China's motor vehicle population reached 390 million as of September 2021, among which 297 million are automobiles, Xinhua reported on Tuesday quoting data from the Ministry of Public Security.
It brought the national motor vehicle ownership to 390 million units by September 2021, including 297 million cars, showed the latest statistics. More than 16 million passenger cars were registered in the first three quarters, up 23.76 percent from the same period of last year.
Private vehicles are rare to nonexistent. The numbers average out to about one passenger car for every 6 million people in China. This compares with one car for every 25 people in neighboring Hong Kong and one for every five people in Japan.
BUYING A CAR IN CHINA. The government began encouraging private car ownership in 1994. Chinese economic policies are designed to nurture domestic automakers and make car ownership accessible to people who half a generation ago thought themselves lucky to afford a bicycle.
China has a rather high car ownership rate, mostly because of the status symbol that comes with vehicles. According to the survey conducted by Rakuten Insight, about 71.4 percent of the Chinese respondents stated they owned a car.
Analysis of the car ownership of the households in Australia in 2021 compared to Greater Capital Cities shows that 87.6% of the households owned at least one car, while 7.1% did not, compared with 87.2% and 8.1% respectively in Greater Capital Cities.
It has become more and more common for Chinese families to purchase a second or a third car. Automobiles have greatly extended the sphere of Chinese people's lives. But more than that, they have become a symbol of individuality.
1 With Steady Increase in Car Ownership, China Became an Automobile-Dependent Society in 2012. An important indicator of the automobile-dependent society is the rate of automobile ownership.
Most U.S. households (91.7%) had at least one vehicle in 2021 (the latest data available), and 22.1% of households had three or more vehicles.
Passenger car sales
In 2022, car sales for China was 23.6 million units. Car sales of China increased from 6.76 million units in 2008 to 23.6 million units in 2022 growing at an average annual rate of 10.32%.
In 2022, the total number of registered vehicles in Australia was more than 20 million. That year, the number of passenger vehicles in Australia amounted to approximately 15.07 million.
1. San Marino. Located in the northeastern part of the Apennine Mountains, San Marino is a landlocked country adjacent to Italy and has the world's largest vehicle-to-population ratio at 1,299 cars per 1,000 people — a lot for such a small micro-nation. An amazing feat!
Two major countries are virtually tied for the most vehicles per capita in the world: The car-crazy United States and New Zealand. In both countries there are about 0.9 vehicles for every person. There are 1.474 billion cars in the world in 2023. Most are in Asia, followed by Europe and North America.
The world's biggest car collection – an estimated 7,000 cars worth more than $5bn – is owned by the secretive Sultan of Brunei. It's private, so unless you're a friend of the absolute ruler of this tiny oil-rich state on the north coast of the island of Borneo, you'll never see his cars.
According to a survey conducted by Rakuten Insight in June 2019, over 69 percent of Japanese respondents stated to own a car. In addition, the majority of respondents in Japan reported to own conventional cars.
Russia Number of Registered Vehicles was reported at 57,812,000 Unit in Dec 2021.
In 2022, there were approximately 82.17 million motor vehicles in use in Japan, continuing the series of record registration numbers.
China's automobile acquisition tax amounts to roughly 10% of the sale price, according to domestic media. The exemption of this levy began in 2014 to spur market growth for new energy vehicles, and its expiration, previously set for the end of 2022, was extended by a year through the end of 2023.
Driving while Living in China
This is why many expats living in China opt to use the public transportation systems or cycle. However, if you'll be travelling long distances frequently you may require a car. You should also be highly aware of other road users as many local drivers will not have car insurance.
Drive through China with your own vehicle
Theoretically China prohibits foreigners to drive-through with their own car, however, practically it's indeed possible whether by car, motorbike, 4WD, jeep, motor-home or truck, but you will need special permits for each province your journey takes you.
Chinese EV makers can produce vehicles for less because they have lower research and development costs, lower levels of capital spending and lower labour costs than rivals in Europe, Mr Koller said.
Chinese automakers have tried to enter the U.S. market before and failed, crippled by sub-par quality, failure to meet tough U.S. safety standards, lack of consumer awareness and ill-conceived import partnerships.