Why Are Some License Plates Green?
2 Answers
License plates that are green represent new energy vehicles. The green license plates are specially designed by the state for easier differentiated management, allowing quick identification of traditional fuel vehicles. The functions of license plates are: 1. To number and register information for each vehicle; 2. To identify the region to which the vehicle belongs; 3. To trace the owner and registration details of the vehicle based on the license plate. The structure of a license plate consists of: 1. A Chinese character representing the abbreviation of the province where the vehicle is registered; 2. An English letter indicating the prefecture-level city code of the vehicle's location; 3. A sequential number. Types of license plates: 1. White represents military and police plates; 2. Blue represents ordinary small vehicles with fewer than 7 seats; 3. Yellow represents ordinary large vehicles; 4. Black represents license plates for foreign enterprises.
I noticed more and more green license plates on the streets and got curious. Upon asking around, I learned that these are special markers for new energy vehicles. The government introduced this policy a few years ago mainly for environmental reasons—green symbolizes freshness and nature, while new energy vehicles like pure electric or plug-in hybrids don’t burn fuel and produce zero emissions, which is great for air quality. I’ve driven old gasoline cars before and remember that license plates used to be mostly blue and yellow. Now, the green plates stand out and are easy to recognize, helping traffic police manage them more effectively—for example, exempting them from traffic restrictions in big cities to encourage more people to buy electric cars. Whenever I see a green-plated car on the road, I feel like I’m supporting green travel and reducing pollution, which is quite positive. At the same time, this design simplifies vehicle registration, killing two birds with one stone. I look forward to more innovations like this.
