China's registered motor vehicles reach 476 million by end of June

China had 476 million registered motor vehicles by the end of June, including 371 million automobiles, the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.

The number of licensed motor vehicle drivers reached 567 million nationwide, including 533 million automobile drivers, accounting for 94.04 percent of the total, the ministry said.

Motor vehicle registrations remained strong in the first half of the year. From January to June, 15.81 million motor vehicles were newly registered nationwide, including 10.51 million automobiles and 5.11 million motorcycles.

New energy vehicles continued to gain market share. By the end of June, China had 48.97 million NEVs, accounting for 13.19 percent of all automobiles, up 2.92 percentage points from the same period last year. Among them, fully electric vehicles totaled 33.675 million, representing 68.77 percent of all NEVs.

In the first half of 2026, nearly 5.2 million NEVs were newly registered, accounting for 49.42 percent of all newly registered automobiles, up 4.45 percentage points year-on-year, the ministry said.

The number of cities with large automobile fleets also continued to grow. By the end of June, 105 cities each had more than 1 million automobiles, four more than a year earlier. Among them, 47 cities each had more than 2 million automobiles, while 27 cities each had more than 3 million.

Chengdu in Sichuan province, Chongqing and Beijing each had more than 6 million automobiles. Zhengzhou in Henan province, Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Shanghai, Xi'an in Shaanxi province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Wuhan in Hubei province each had more than 5 million.

The secondhand vehicle market also remained active. In the first half of the year, 18.52 million motor vehicle ownership transfers were processed nationwide, including 17.05 million automobile transfers.

A total of 3.45 million secondhand passenger cars were transferred across regions, up 11.98 percent year-on-year. The ministry said reforms allowing cross-regional registration of used car transactions have made services more convenient for individuals and businesses while promoting circulation in the secondhand vehicle market.

The number of licensed drivers also continued to rise. In the first six months, 13.04 million people obtained driver's licenses for the first time, up 3.66 percent year-on-year.

Demand for online traffic management services also increased. Public security traffic management authorities continued to expand online services, including driver's license renewal, vehicle registration certificate replacement and the issuance of temporary license plates.

In the first half of the year, 55.66 million traffic management services were handled online nationwide, up 3.17 percent year-on-year and setting a record for the same period, the ministry said.