(Yicai Global) July 4 -- China had 3.4 million registered new-energy vehicles as of the end of June, up nearly 73 percent from a year earlier, according to official data from the world's largest auto market.

NEVs made up 1 percent of the 340 million registered motor vehicles, the People's Daily reported today, citing figures published yesterday by the Ministry of Public Security's traffic management bureau. About 2.8 million of the NEVs were pure electric.

Buyers also showed a far greater interest in used cars, with drivers registering 94 second-hand vehicles for every 100 new ones. Over the same period last year, the ratio was 74 to 100.

Rural areas were home to 250 million of all cars registered, while 11 cities had more than 3 million each and another 55 cities had at least 1 million, according to the data. The number of newly registered vehicles in the first six months fell 10 percent to 12.4 million.

Editor: James Boynton