What is the difference between Su E and Su U license plates?
3 Answers
There is no difference between Su E and Su U license plates. Both are license plates issued in Suzhou. Initially, Su E was used, but when the number of Su E plates became insufficient, Su U plates began to be issued. The license plate codes for various cities in Jiangsu Province are as follows: Su A for Nanjing, Su B for Wuxi, Su C for Xuzhou, Su D for Changzhou, Su F for Nantong, Su G for Lianyungang, Su H for Huaian, Su J for Yancheng, Su K for Yangzhou, Su L for Zhenjiang, Su M for Taizhou, and Su N for Suqian. Suzhou is a national historical and cultural city as well as a scenic tourist destination. It is also a national high-tech industrial base, located in the southeastern part of Jiangsu Province, in the central Yangtze River Delta. It borders Shanghai to the east, Jiaxing to the south, embraces Taihu Lake to the west, and is adjacent to the Yangtze River to the north.
I'm a veteran taxi driver with over a decade of experience in Suzhou. Both Su E and Su U are official license plates here – I know this stuff inside out. The key difference is the issuing timeline: Su E was Suzhou's original prefix from the earliest days, but when plate numbers ran short due to growing vehicles, Su U was introduced in 2019. Don't be fooled by the letter – they're identical in driving privileges, annual inspections, and insurance coverage. Oh, and spotting blue plates mixing Su E and Su U? Totally normal. Someone even snapped Su U99999, a killer vanity plate! Bottom line: ignore the letter, focus on road legality. Traffic cops only care about the number sequence and regional code.
Last month, I specifically asked about this when accompanying a friend to the DMV for license plate registration. The Su E license plate has been used in Suzhou for many years. Due to the surge in vehicle ownership, the Su U series was added in August 2019, effectively creating a new numbering pool for Suzhou. Currently, when buying a car and registering for a plate, it's randomly assigned—you might get either Su E or Su U. The driving permissions are exactly the same, including restricted zones, highway tolls, and annual inspection requirements. However, I noticed an interesting phenomenon: new energy green plates uniformly start with Su E, indicating that license plate rules still depend on the fuel type.
