Chinese central government departments have no current plans to buy BMW or Benz vehicles for official fleets, the Procurement Center of the Central People's Government (PCCG) said Thursday.

The government aimed to cut this year's official vehicle expenses of government organs and organs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by 15 percent from the previous three years' average as part of its drive to practice frugality, the center said.

The central government won't replace most cars. It would only buy new cars for new officials or to replace heavy-polluting vehicles, the center said.

"So central government organs have no plan to buy BMW and Benz cars at present," the center said.

Established in 2003, the PCCG is a procurement agency for the central government ministries and other organs.

Luxury car makers BMW and Mercedes-Benz joined 36 other automobile brands on the procurement list of "official" vehicles for 2009-2010.

The two listed manufacturers are BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. and Beijing Benz-Daimlerchrysler Automotive Co., Ltd.. Both are joint venture companies based in China.

"All nine models of BMW and Benz listed in the procurement catalogue were domestically made," the center said. Being on the list only means the manufacturers are qualified; it doesn't indicate actual buying plans.

Since "official" vehicles were included in the procurement catalogue, purchase prices have fallen more than 10 percent, according to the center.

The government had also taken the lead in buying domestic cars, the center said, with purchases of more than 1,000 such cars including Cherry and Besturn.

The government has sought to cut its vehicle pool in recent years.

Since 2004, the central government has readjusted the official vehicle quotas of 95 central government organs, according to the center. During that process, 721 vehicles were deemed as excessive or extravagant and the total number of central government official vehicles fell 30 percent, the center's figures showed.

Spending on central government vehicles fell 22.5 percent year on year in 2008, according to the center.

The central government also changed its official car requirement to reflect the "improved quality" and "falling prices" of domestic cars.

Under regulations released in 2004, ordinary vehicles of central government departments should have an engine displacement of up to 2.0 liters and a price below 250,000 yuan (about 36,574 U.S. dollars).

Those limits were adjusted to specify vehicles with an engine displacement of up to 1.8 liters and a price below 160,000 yuan.

The center did not say whether there were any changes in the cars used by senior officials.

Ministers and provincial heads should have cars with an engine displacement of up to 3.0 liters and a price below 450,000 yuan. For a vice minister, the car should be priced below 350,000 yuan, according to the regulations in 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2009)