Sustainable economic growth will be the most critical aspect for China's mobility and automobile use by 2030, and its constraints on vehicle use and environmental regulations will also be key drivers, according to a report published on Tuesday by Rand Corp, a non-profit think tank.

The report, The Future of Mobility: Scenarios for China in 2030, says the uncertainty of those factors as well as the market size of China make it important to create different mobility perspectives for decision-makers to prepare for future developments.

With the rapid growth of the middle class and a burgeoning population, researchers studied contributing factors that could either hinder or help mobility in China, and discovered three potential driving forces: the pace of economic growth, constraints imposed on vehicle-ownership and use, and environmental conditions.