Motor Vehicles in China Hit 217m

 BEIJING, Jul. 21 -- The number of motor vehicles in China hit 217 million as of the end of June, including nearly 98.46 million automobiles and 102 million motorcycles, according to a statement released by the the Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday.

The ministry's definition of motor vehicles includes motorcycles,tractors, trucks and cars.

The total number of motor vehicles in China registered a growth of 10.05 million units in the first half of this year, which include 7.6 million automobiles, according to the ministry.

Eleven Chinese mainland cities have more than one million automobiles in use, including Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu,and Tianjin. The number of automobiles on Beijing's roads hit 4.64 million.

Private cars accounted for more than 70 percent of the country's total, said the statement.

China overtook the United States to become the world's largest automaker and automobile market in 2009.