The number of privately owned motor vehicles rose 18.8 percent year-on-year to 22 million in China in 2006, said sources with the National Bureau of Statistics.

It is estimated that currently over 60 percent of China's civilian vehicles are privately owned, compared with 58.6 percent at the end of 2005 when the country had a total of 31.6 million civilian vehicles.

Sales of new vehicles surged 25 percent to 7.22 million in China last year, 60 percent of which were purchased by individuals.

Meanwhile, individual buyers contributed 80 percent to last year's sedan sales of 3.8 million units.

The number of privately owned vehicles has been soaring since the country's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, when 43 percent of the country's civilian vehicles were privately owned.

China, once known as the kingdom of bicycles, has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest auto market after the United States. And there is obvious room for further growth. On average, there are only three cars for every 100 Chinese people, while the world's average is 12.

Source: Xinhua