BEIJING - The Beijing municipal government says it will limit issuance of new car plates to 240,000 annually in an effort to ease the capital city's traffic jams.

Related readings:  Beijing to offer electric, hybrid car subsidy  New car numbers surge in Beijing last week  New rules may hurt Beijing's car market  Restriction on car growth is key to Beijing's traffic jam

Car buyers will have to obtain car plates by drawing lots before they drive their cars on road, said the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport (BMCT) at a press briefing Thursday.

The new policy will take effect on Jan 1, 2011, the BMCT said.

In 2010, more than 700,000 news cars were sold in Beijing, bringing the capital city's total number of automobiles to more than 4.7 million, statistics from the BMCT showed.