BEIJING - China had 322 million motor vehicles and 403 million vehicle drivers as of the end of September, the Ministry of Public Security said Wednesday.

China has seen an ongoing increase in the numbers of motor vehicles and drivers, as a total of 7.41 million motor vehicles and 8.45 million vehicle drivers were newly registered between July and September, the ministry's traffic management bureau said.

Nearly 73 percent, or 235 million, of the country's motor vehicles were cars by end-September, with the number of new-energy cars reaching 2.21 million, said the bureau.