China had 148 million motor-driven vehicles by the end of March, up 2.17 percent over the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

This included 51.8 million automobiles and 82.5 million motorcycles. The statistics also cover tractors, trailers and other sorts of motor-drive vehicles, according to the traffic administration of the ministry.

Up to 75.97 percent of the motor-driven vehicles were privately owned, according to the statistics available on the official website of the ministry.

The number of privately owned automobiles reached 30.95 million, up 5.81 percent over the end of last year. This included 12.48 million cars.

There were 3.1 million imported motor-driven vehicles in use at the end of March, including 1.86 million automobiles and 1.2 million motorcycles.

The number of motor-driven vehicle drivers increased 1.97 percent from the end of 2006 to 153 million by the end of March, more than 80 percent of whom are in the 26 to 50 age bracket.

China, once known as the kingdom of bicycles, has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest auto market after the United States.