Customers browse cars at a used car showroom in Taizhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Jiang Qinyou/China News Service]

Every 100 households in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province own 65 cars, the latest official statistics show.

Specifically, every 100 households in the city's urban area possess 72 cars, while the figure for their rural counterparts stand at 54, ranking high among prefecture-level cities across the nation.

In 2021, retail sales of automobile and petroleum-related products in Taizhou were valued at 28.483 billion yuan ($4.38 billion) and 12.783 billion yuan respectively, up 10.1 percent and 33.8 percent year-on-year. 

The increase in private car ownership in the city is primarily due to the stable income of local residents.

In 2021, the per capita disposable income of residents in Taizhou stood at 55,499 yuan, 20,371 yuan higher than the national average and an increase of 9.6 percent over the previous year.

After deducting price factors, the growth rate stood at 7.7 percent in real terms. The income gap between its urban and rural areas was also narrowed from 1.94 to 1.92.

Subsidies offered by the local government for car purchasers have also played a part in the growth.

People will be granted a maximum subsidy of up to 8,000 yuan for purchasing cars priced at 50,000 yuan or above, according to related policies.