SHANGHAI, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai has 240,000 new-energy vehicles (NEVs) by the end of 2018 and remains one of the biggest NEVs markets among Chinese cities, according to statistics released by the traffic control office of Shanghai's public security organ.

Statistics also indicate that Shanghai saw over 73,000 new NEVs registered last year, a year-on-year surge of 20.2 percent.

Since 2016, over 360 types of NEVs had been launched in Shanghai as the city continues to keep its NEVs market open, said an industry expert in Shanghai.

For example, U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Inc. broke new ground with its Shanghai factory on Jan. 7, becoming the first to benefit from a new policy allowing foreign carmakers to set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in China.

Moreover, Shanghai has turned to NEVs for public transport to reduce pollution from the urban transport system, and the growing private users still dominate the NEVs market.

Shanghai has built nearly 10,500 charging stations in 2018, bringing the total number to 210,600. The city plans to build more charging stations to meet the growing demand.