China's car production and sales respectively reached 2.84 million units and 2.83m units in December of 2020, and also increased 5.7 per cent and 6.4pc from a year earlier, according to the National Business Daily, citing the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on Thursday.

The production and sales of passenger cars respectively reached 2.33m and 2.38m units in December, jumping 6.5pc and 7.2pc year-on-year, while the respective figures for commercial vehicles were 509,000 units and 456,000 units, up 2.3pc and 2.4pc year-on-year, respectively.

The above figures mark the ninth consecutive month that China's automobile production and sales have achieved positive growth, said the National Business Daily.

The country's market size remained first in the world last year, with car production and sales respectively hitting 25.23m and 25.31m units, down 2pc and 1.9pc, and the decline narrowed by 5.5 percentage points and 6.3 percentage points, respectively.

China's automobile market has become one of the bright spots in the global automobile market in 2020, with annual sales accounting for 33pc of the world's sales, said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Thanks to strong support from national and local policies, unremitting efforts from industrial enterprises and strong recovery in consumer demand, the country's car sales have been growing rapidly since the second half of last year, and the automobile industry has performed much better than expected, Shihua added.

The new energy vehicle market also showed an encouraging performance last year.

The production and sales of new energy vehicles hit a monthly record high in December, with the figures respectively reaching 235,000 units and 248,000 units, a surge of 55.7pc and 49.5pc from a year earlier. The respective annual figures for last year were 1.37m units and 1.37m units, up 7.5pc and 10.9pc year-on-year.

Car consumption in China will continue to grow as the domestic cycle is more unimpeded, the market consumption potential is constantly released, and the automobile consumption environment is further optimised, said Lin Nianxiu, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Moreover, new energy vehicle and smart car consumption will also gradually expand as middle and high-income groups are expanding, new types of infrastructure are being improved, and green and low-carbon lifestyles are widely available, Nianxiu added.

Next year, the number of cars produced is expected to surpass 26m units, up 4pc year-on-year due to the national economy rebounding steadily. The recovery in consumer demand will be accelerated, and the overall potential of China's automobile market is still huge, said Shihua.

China's auto industry will be transforming and upgrading, driven by electrification, intelligent features, internet of things and digitisation, and the new energy vehicle market will be transformed from policy-driven to market-driven, Shihua added.

This article originally appeared on China Daily and has been reproduced with permission.