Of the residents with an annual income of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, there are 609 cars for every 10,000. Those with an annual income of 50,000 to 70,000 have 994; those with an annual income of 70,000 to 100,000 have 1,266; and those with an annual income of more than 100,000 have 5,917, accounting for 64 percent.

Better-educated people have a higher ratio of owing private cars, because in China today earnings are determined basically by the level of education.

The age group of people to have the highest ratio of private cars is between 31 to 45, when their careers and families gradually become stable. In particular, people in the 31-35 age group have 165 cars per 10,000 persons, the highest ratio of all age groups.

The most popular car model is Santana that has a lion’s share of 24 percent, followed by Chang’an and Jetta. Besides, Xiali is popular in cities in northern China, with a share of ten percent.

(People’s Daily 05/23/2001)