Beijing plans to eliminate 1.8 million old vehicles step by step beginning 2011 in the city's bid to tighten emission limits for automobiles, Beijing Times reported Friday.

That will come at a time when "yellow label cars" - those heavy-polluting vehicles - have been cleaned up off the road after a more-than-two-years effort.

"We will turn our focus from 'yellow label cars' to old vehicles after the former's elimination," says an official with the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. "When the Chinese national fifth-stage limits equivalent to Euro III comes into force in 2012, the current 1.8 million vehicles that only meet the first-stage limits and second-stage limits will be considered disqualified, and thus will be retired."