BEIJING - China had approximately 415 million motor vehicles and...

BEIJING - China had approximately 415 million motor vehicles and more than 500 million motor-vehicle drivers at the end of November 2022, both ranking first in the world, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Thursday.Among the licensed motor-vehicle drivers, 463 million were car drivers, the official data showed.In recent years, China's automobile ownership has increased by more than 20 million annually, with the total number reaching 318 million at the end of November, the MPS said.Chinese licensed drivers have maintained an average annual increase of 25 million since 2014. Currently, one in two Chinese adults holds a driving license. The number of drivers under the age of 25 hit 54.48 million, accounting for 10.9 percent of the total.The number of licensed drivers in rural China has grown fast in recent years, with an annual increase of more than 13 million. About 289 million rural residents obtained driving licenses, accounting for 57.8 percent of the total number across the country, the MPS said. At the same time, the number of motor vehicles in rural areas hit 208 million, of which 140 million were automobiles, accounting for 50.2 percent and 44.1 percent of the country's total, respectively. According to the data released by the China Automobile Association, China’s automobile production and sales in November2023 increased month-on-month by 7 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively, to stand at 3.093 million units and 2.97 million units. On a year-on-year calculation, they stood significantly higher by 29.4 per cent and 27.4 percent, respectively.Of the total units sold, 2.488 million cars were sold domestically, reflecting a month-on-month rise of 5.2 per cent and a year-on-year hike of 24.3 per cent. The rest 482,000 tonnes were exported, down by 11 per cent month-on-month and up by 46.3 per cent year-on-year.At the 2024 China Automobile Market Development Forecast Summit, Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, shared his projection that at the end of 2023, China’s automobile sales would be about 30 million units, marking an 11.7 per cent rise year-on-year.Among them, passenger car sales are expected to amount to 26 million units, commercial vehicles about 4 million units, and new energy vehicles nearly 9.4 million units.In 2024, China’s vehicle sales are estimated to grow further to around 31 million units, including 26.8 million unit passenger cars, 4.2 million commercial vehicles, 11.5 million new energy vehicles, and the remaining 5.5 million units to be exported.WILL THEY NEED MORE LITHIUM?