Over 170 million private cars in China

Traffic jam at Beijing's Second Ring Road. [File photo: Chinanews.com]

Motor vehicle ownership in China has reached over 310 million in 2017, with a net increase of 15 million compared to 2016, according to the 2017 China White Paper on Parking Industry Development.

The paper by the China Public Transport Association and the Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute also shows that there were 170 million private cars in China by the end of 2017.

Among the major cities in China, Beijing, Chengdu and Chongqing have the most private vehicles.

The same study shows the number of new energy vehicles reached 1.53 million, which is about 0.7 percent of total car ownership in China.

Meanwhile, experts are suggesting an increase in the number of "smart" parking technologies to help cope with parking in major cities.

The paper has been released as part of the 6th Tsinghua Tongheng Scientific Week, one of the major seminars on urban and rural planning in China.