BEIJING, April 17 -- China's auto ownership reached 200 million in March, with total motor vehicles numbering 300 million, the Ministry of Public Security said Monday.

The ministry's traffic management bureau said in a statement that 8.2 million motor vehicles were newly registered in the first quarter, similar to the same period of last year.

In the meantime, the population of licensed drivers increased fast.

As of the end of March, China has 320 million licensed motor vehicle drivers, up 2.65 percent from the previous quarter, the statement said.