Beijing Car sales soared during the Olympics,

causing congestion across the city like this,

despite efforts to reduce congestion in order to

improve air quality for the 2008 games

400,000 new cars hit Shanghai in

2006, resulting in higher fees for

license plates

Car ownership is expected to reach

267 cars per 1000 people by 2030

China’s rate of urbanisation is staggering. Rural-to-urban migration

in China is the highest ever recorded – 8.5 million people a year.

45 million Chinese are expected to move to cities by 2012, and

most will head for the industrial centres by the coast – where

energy consumption is significantly higher than in rural areas.

China’s auto sales from 2000 – 2010. As you can see there is a

massive incline over a decade from 2.1 million units in 2000 to

19.65 million units in 2009. It is expected that by 2030, the

increase is expected to account for 25% global demand.

Although China only currently uses 10% of its energy for

transportation, it will need much more oil to fuel the anticipated

growth in car use

China accounts for 8% of the total global demand for crude oil.

BUT it now also accounts for 33% of the current growth in

global demand for oil. By 2010, China’s dependency on

imported oil is expected to reach 60%

By 2020, China is expected to have 140 million private

cars on the road – even more than the USA.

Urban residents in China's population in 3 years is expected

to rise from 47% to 75%, which would require the clearance of

land for residences, roads and other infrastructure, all

demanding energy for production