At the end of 2006, the nationwide total of privately-owned sedans hit 11.49 million, 33.5 percent more than last year's 8.6067 million. The data was released by the Statistical Communiqu---on 2006 National Economic and Social Development, published by the National Bureau of Statistics on February 28.

The statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics of China reveal that at the end of 2006, the number of privately-owned cars had reached 49.85 million (include 13.99 million tri-wheel cars and low speed trucks), up 15.2 percent from the end of last year, with private sedan ownership reaching 29.25 million, up 23.7 percent. Overall private car ownership was 15.45 million, up 27.2 percent.

Sedans first became available to individual buyers in the 1980s, but the market developed slowly for a long time. In the 21st, however, as China's car market has opened and the national car industry developed rapidly, the supply has increased and the price fallen. The government also adopted a series of measures to encourage buyers.

In 2000, the production and sale of sedans was only 607,000, while in 2006, the number grew to more than 3.8 million. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2000 there was only one car per hundred families. This grew to 3.37 in 2005 and continued to increase in 2006.