BEIJING, May 24 -- China's car ownership ratio will rise to 40 cars for every 1,000 citizens by 2010, compared with the current 24, China News Services reported yesterday.

    The National Development and Reform Commission predicted that 55 million vehicles will be running on China's roads, while the annual production rate will hit 9 million units a year in 2010.

    "In the coming five years, we will improve the product line of the whole auto industry," Li Gang, an official from the commission, said during a Sino-Germany forum on high-end technologies. "We hope, even given that increase, the oil consumption will increase by no more than 50 percent."

    "We also hope by 2010, domestic automakers will be able to sell 10 percent of their automobiles and 50 percent of their motorbikes to the international market," Li added. "At that point, major Chinese producers of auto parts will become a part of the world's automotive production chain."

    As the third-largest car market in the world, the average number of cars retained in every 1,000 Chinese citizens is only 24, compared with more than 700 in the United States and world average of 120.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)