What is the maximum size and length for vehicles with blue license plates?
3 Answers
The largest vehicles eligible for blue license plates are trucks with a length under 6 meters and a total weight under 4,500 kg. Blue plates are issued to light and mini trucks. In China, trucks are categorized into three types based on load capacity: light-duty (under 3.5 tons), medium-duty (4-8 tons), and heavy-duty (over 8 tons). Below is an introduction to different license plate types: 1. New energy vehicle plates: Green background with black characters and borders, featuring gradient green for standard new energy vehicles and yellow-green dual colors for large new energy vehicles (yellow for regional code, green for number section). 2. Large vehicle plates: Yellow background with black characters and borders, issued to medium/large passenger & cargo trucks, special operation vehicles, semi-trailer tractors, and trolleybuses. 3. Trailer plates: Yellow background with black characters and borders, for full trailers and semi-trailers not permanently attached to tractors. 4. Small vehicle plates: Blue background with white characters and borders, for passenger/cargo vehicles and special operation vehicles below medium size. 5. Embassy/consulate plates: Black background with white characters and borders, for vehicles of foreign diplomatic missions in China.
I paid special attention to this standard when handling procedures at the DMV before. Blue license plate vehicles refer to small cars that can be driven with a regular Class C license. The vehicle length must not exceed 6 meters, which is measured from the foremost point of the front to the rearmost point of the rear. The longest one I've seen was a 5.98-meter truck, which could carry quite a lot of cargo. Generally, light trucks or extended minivans within this range qualify for blue plates. Of course, they must also meet the requirements of having no more than 9 seats and a total weight not exceeding 4.5 tons. Large vehicles like the Ford F-150 pickup are basically designed to hit the 6-meter upper limit. If you're planning to buy a big vehicle, remember to measure the dimensions carefully to avoid exceeding the standard and causing trouble with registration.
I enjoy studying the dimensional parameters of various vehicles. Most common blue license plate vehicles typically range between 4 to 6 meters in length. The longest models are generally capped around 5.9 meters - take the Mercedes-Benz Vito as a prime example of such large commercial vehicles, with its body measuring approximately 5.37 meters, well within blue plate specifications. However, be cautious with certain extended Lincoln models that may appear majestic; if exceeding 6 meters, they require yellow plates. Truck dimensions matter even more - a friend purchased a 5.8-meter box truck with decent loading capacity that still qualified for blue plate policies. Recent regulations have further clarified that vehicles exceeding length limits can't even obtain ETC passes.
