As a comparison, China's NEV penetration rate was 24 percent in the first half of the year.

(Image credit: Nio)

As one of the most supportive cities for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China, Shanghai saw a much higher than average penetration of such vehicles.

In the first half of the year, 190,000 new motor vehicles were registered in Shanghai, of which 85,692, or 45.1 percent, were NEVs, according to data released today by the Shanghai traffic police.

As background, sales of NEVs in China in the first half of the year were 2.6 million, up 120 percent year-on-year, with a market share of 21.6 percent, according to data released earlier this month by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

By the end of June, Shanghai had 5.09 million motor vehicles, including two-wheelers, of which 4.51 million were cars, according to the Shanghai traffic police.

The number of NEVs in Shanghai reached 710,000 at the end of June, accounting for 15.74 percent of all vehicles.

By the end of June, Shanghai's battery electric vehicle ownership was 380,000, accounting for 53.52 percent of the total number of NEVs.

It is worth noting that the number of newly registered vehicles in Shanghai in the first half of the year decreased by 180,000, or 39.3 percent, compared to the same period last year due to Covid lockdown from the end of March to May.

The number of newly registered NEVs in Shanghai in the first half of the year decreased by 47,436, or 32.01 percent, compared to the same period last year.

New motor vehicle registrations in the first three months of the year were flat compared to the same period last year, but affected by the Covid epidemic, new motor vehicle registrations in April and May were only 7,972, much lower than the same period last year, a press release from the Shanghai traffic police noted.

With business in Shanghai fully back to work and production, new motor vehicle registrations reached 30,000 in June, an upward trend, according to the release.

By the end of June, the number of motorists in Shanghai reached 9.13 million, of which 8.99 million were regular car drivers, accounting for 98.47 percent of the total.

In the first half of the year, 88,545 new drivers' licenses were issued in Shanghai.

Shanghai is home to the global headquarters of Nio (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866, SGX: Nio) and the Tesla factory in China.

In 2021, Nio has the No. 1 market share of 23 percent of all fuel and electric SUVs priced over RMB 350,000 in Shanghai, William Li, the company's founder, chairman and CEO, said during a March 25 quarterly earnings call.

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