The Shanghai municipal government will set a ceiling for first-round bids of car license plates in 2014 in a move to contain the surging prices that have sparked public outcry.

The government office in charge of plate issuance said on Tuesday it would set a "warning price" at 72,600 yuan ($11,950) per plate. Any first-round bids higher than the price would be rejected by the system.

Buyers will have to go through two rounds of bidding. The first-round of bidding will produce a minimum price for the second-round bidding.

Shanghai government will issue 100,000 license plates next year, according to the issuance plan.

To curb the growth in the number of cars, China's three biggest cities will only allow a certain number of vehicles to be registered each year.

Shanghai uses a bidding plan, while Beijing issues plates through a lottery. Guangzhou adopts both systems, half issued through bidding, the other half through a lottery.