China NEV Fleet Nears 49 Million by End-June, Penetration Hits 13.2%

China’s Ministry of Public Security released the latest vehicle registration data on July 14, showing that the country’s total motor vehicle fleet reached 476 million units by the end of June 2026.

Of the total, 371 million were automobiles. The country had 567 million licensed motor vehicle drivers, including 533 million licensed automobile drivers.

As China’s vehicle fleet continued to expand, new energy vehicles (NEVs) remained the fastest-growing segment.

By the end of June, China’s NEV fleet had reached 48.97 million units, accounting for 13.19% of the country’s total automobile fleet, up 2.92 percentage points from a year earlier.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 33.675 million units, representing 68.77% of all NEVs on the road.

NEVs also continued to gain ground in the new-car market.

During the first half of 2026, China registered 15.81 million new motor vehicles, including 10.51 million automobiles.

NEV registrations totaled 5.195 million units, accounting for 49.42% of all newly registered automobiles, up 4.45 percentage points from the same period last year.

China’s vehicle ownership also continued to spread across more cities.

As of the end of June, 105 Chinese cities had automobile fleets exceeding 1 million units, four more than a year earlier.

Among them, 47 cities had more than 2 million vehicles, while 27 cities had fleets exceeding 3 million.

Chengdu, Chongqing and Beijing each had more than 6 million automobiles. Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai, Xi’an, Hangzhou and Wuhan each had fleets exceeding 5 million vehicles.

The used-car market also remained active. Totaling 18.52 million vehicle ownership transfer registrations were completed nationwide in the first half, including 17.05 million automobile transfers.

The trend aligns with data from the China Automobile Dealers Association.

During the first five months of the year, new vehicle retail sales totaled 8.148 million units, down more than 20% year on year, while used-car transactions reached 8.095 million units, up 2.3%.

The near 1:1 ratio between new-car retail sales and used-car transactions suggests China’s auto market is increasingly shifting from a growth-driven market to one supported by both new vehicle demand and the existing vehicle fleet, with vehicle circulation efficiency continuing to improve.

The number of licensed drivers also continued to increase.

By the end of June, China had 567 million licensed motor vehicle drivers, with automobile drivers accounting for 94.04% of the total.

During the first half of the year, 13.04 million people obtained driver’s licenses, up 3.66% from a year earlier.