What do license plates F and D represent?
4 Answers
License plate F represents hybrid electric vehicles, while license plate D represents pure electric vehicles. Both license plates F and D are green plates, symbolizing new energy vehicles. New energy vehicles refer to automobiles that utilize unconventional vehicle fuels as power sources, integrating advanced technologies in vehicle power control and driving systems to form vehicles with advanced technical principles, new technologies, and novel structures. New energy vehicles include four major types: hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), pure electric vehicles (BEV, including solar-powered vehicles), fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), and other new energy vehicles (such as those using supercapacitors, flywheels, and other high-efficiency energy storage devices).
I've been driving for over a decade and can tell where a car is from just by looking at the license plate letters. For example, in our Guangdong Province, 'Yue F' indicates a car from Shaoguan, while 'Yue D' is from Shantou. Each province has its own numbering system, with the provincial capital usually starting with A, like 'Yue A' for Guangzhou. This rule is standardized nationwide, making it easy for traffic police to check vehicles and quickly identify their origin. However, with the rise of new energy license plates in recent years, the letters D and F have taken on additional meanings. D stands for pure electric vehicles, and F represents hybrid vehicles—a pretty scientific distinction. I remember being puzzled when I first saw plates with F, only to later learn it was part of the new rules for new energy vehicles. Whenever I spot such plates on the road, I take an extra glance, as eco-friendly models are becoming increasingly common.
Last time when I helped a customer change tires, he asked about the letters on license plates, so I explained in detail. In traditional license plates, letters like F or D are actually regional codes representing different cities within provinces. For example, in Hunan Province, Xiang F stands for Yueyang, while Xiang D represents Hengyang; in Henan Province, Yu F indicates Hebi, and Yu D denotes Pingdingshan. New energy license plates are different—the letter D on a yellow plate means the vehicle is purely electric, while F signifies a plug-in hybrid. The distinction is simple: green plates are for hybrids, and yellow plates are for pure electric vehicles. These identifiers are quite important because you need to know your vehicle type to use the appropriate charging station.
I recently researched license plate codes across different regions and found some interesting patterns. Coastal provinces use a lot of letters, like Zhejiang's Zhe F for Shaoxing vehicles and Jiangsu's Su F for Nantong vehicles. Cities with the letter D are usually economically significant, such as E D for Jingzhou in Hubei and Liao D for Fushun in Liaoning. After the update in new energy vehicle license plate rules, the position of letters became more important—the second character D/F now indicates the vehicle type. For regular license plates, D/F usually represents the city in the second position, but for new energy vehicles, this identifier has been moved to the third position. When buying a new energy vehicle, remember to check this letter carefully, as charging subsidy policies are linked to it.
