Car ownership in China expected to overtake Japan next year

Car ownership in China will reach 75 million cars no later than 2011, and China will surpass Japan as the world's second largest auto market, said an official from the State Information Center on May 28.

Speaking at China's alternative-energy automotive development summit, Xu Changming, director of the Information Resource Development Department under the State Information Center, said that in recent years, the number of autos in China has increased annually.

The number of car owners in China was nearly 50 million in 2008 and then 63 million in 2009. By the end of 2010 and no later than 2011, the number of cars is expected to reach 75 million.

Around 13 million cars were sold in China in 2009, accounting for 22 percent of the global sales volume, and the energy consumption also reached 22 percent of the worldwide total. China's consumption of oil has been huge since it entered into the automobile industry.

Xu said, "It is difficult for China to totally depend on oil for cars, so it is urgent to develop alternative-energy cars."

Source:Xinhua