Replacing conventional gasoline or diesel vehicles with natural gas vehicles (NGVs) is necessary if China hopes to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the short term. Based on city-level data, this paper analyzes the enabling factors and barriers to China's NGV development. We find that a shortage in natural gas supply and a relatively high price ratio of natural gas compared to gasoline are the main factors impeding China's NGV development. Imbalanced development between natural gas refueling stations and NGVs also hinder the popularity of these lower-carbon vehicles. While various policies have been implemented in recent years to promote NGVs in China, only those encouraging adoption of NGVs by the private sector appear effective. To promote further NGV development in China, the following strategies are proposed: (1) improve natural gas delivery infrastructure across the country; (2) reasonably reduce the relative price of natural gas compared to gasoline; (3) give priority to middle-income and medium-sized cities and towns, since siting natural gas refueling stations is easier in these areas; and (4) promote the use of NGVs in the private sector. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.