A total of 7.06 million new cars were registered in China in the first quarter this year, up 10.9 percent year on year, bringing car ownership to 179 million, according to the Ministry of Public Security on Friday.
With about 8 million new drivers in the first quarter, China now has 289 million licensed drivers, the ministry's traffic management bureau said in a statement.
As of the end of March, motor vehicle ownership had hit 283 million, with cars accounting for more than 63 percent.
Among the 142 million passenger cars, more than 130 million are privately owned, the statement said.
According to the statement, there are 42 cities where car ownership has reached more than 1 million, and in 15 cities, including Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Shanghai, car ownership exceeds 2 million.
