Tesla Motors says buyers of its high-end electric cars in the city of Shanghai now qualify for free license plates – a perk, it says, that makes its rides even more attractive.

What the Palo Alto, Calif., company doesn't emphasize is that other importers of electric vehicles stand to benefit too.

Getting a license plate in Shanghai is no easy feat. In a bid to curb pollution and congestion, license plates in the city are auctioned to the public. Last month the average price was 74,113 yuan (around $12,000).

While license plate rules differ from city to city, in Shanghai about 10 Chinese models of electric vehicles qualify for free license plates.

Experts say foreign brands will likely be included too under new rules, though only for about 3,000 vehicles. The Shanghai government hasn't made a formal announcement, and authorities couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

According to Tesla, however, the word is go for its car. In a letter to shareholders posted to Tesla's blog last week, the company said it "received further media attention thanks to the Shanghai government's announcement that Model S drivers in the city will be entitled to free license plates, thereby avoiding the usual public auction price of $10,000 to $15,000 per plate. Since Model S pricing in China was already very competitive, this makes the car's value proposition even more compelling."

Two Model S owners in Shanghai received their plates last Friday, said Tesla spokeswoman Peggy Yang.In China, the Model S sells for around $121,000.

Tesla's announcement got buzz and was widely picked up by auto-focused news outlets.

But it isn't just Tesla that qualifies, it said. In an email, Ms. Yang said Thursday the the Shanghai government policy applied to all imported electric vehicles.

BMW AG's first mass-production electric car, the i3, could also stand to benefit from the new rules. BMW declined to comment, citing the lack of an official announcement from the authorities on the matter.

Analysts say measures such as free license plates can help boost popularity of electric vehicles as they reduce the overall cost of purchase.

China has set itself the ambitious goal of putting 500,000 plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by next year and five million by 2020. Beijing is hoping so-called green cars will help battle pollution, boost Chinese auto makers' technology levels and help reduce the country's dependency on imported oil.

But so far the uptake has been slow. In 2013, about 1,005 plug-in hybrids and 11,410 electric vehicles were sold in the country, according to data from consultancy Automotive Foresight -- a tiny drop compared with the 22 million vehicles sold in China last year.

--Colum Murphy with contributions from Rose Yu . Follow Colum on Twitter @Colum_M

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