BEIJING -- The number of new-energy cars in China totaled 2.61 million in 2018, up 70 percent or 1.07 million year on year, the Ministry of Public Security said Friday.

The country has seen an ongoing increase in the number of new-energy cars, as about 500,000 had been newly registered a year on average over the past five years.

About 201 million of China's 327 million motor vehicles were cars, including 189 million cars privately owned, the ministry's figures show.

A total of 61 cities had over 1 million automobiles each, and eight cities including Beijing had over 3 million.

With the increase of motor vehicles, the number of licensed drivers also grew. China had 409 million vehicle drivers, with an annual increase of more than 30 million in the past five years.