A visitor watches a car displayed by FAW Hongqi during the 14th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, Aug. 23, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese carmakers, including FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, BYD and Geely, continued to maintain a high growth rate in vehicle sales in January, propelling the domestic auto industry to a promising start for 2024.

FAW Group's auto sales exceeded 296,800 units last month, up 54.2 percent year on year, according to the company. Of its total sales, the car brand Hongqi contributed 40,300 units alone, marking a year-on-year increase of 82.9 percent.

Data also shows that car sales of Dongfeng Motor Corporation hit 274,000 units, up 120.2 percent year on year, while Geely sold 213,487 vehicles, representing a year-on-year growth of 110 percent. The new energy vehicles (NEVs) sales of BYD went up 33.14 percent to 201,493 units, maintaining its position as a frontrunner in China's NEV market.

Industry insiders believe that with the continuous product iteration, domestic automobile brands are gaining increasing recognition among Chinese consumers. With a solid market foundation, the robust sales of Chinese auto companies will provide strong support to the country's economic development.

Meanwhile, several major Chinese automakers also achieved a large increase in overseas sales in January compared with the same month last year. FAW Group sold 11,529 vehicles overseas, increasing 186 percent year on year, while BYD exported 36,174 vehicles, up 247.5 percent year on year.

According to Yang Dayong, chairman of China FAW Group Import and Export Co., Ltd., Hongqi chose developed regions abroad as its target market and opened up sales channels in 24 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Norway.

To accelerate the development of the NEV industry and sustain their competitive advantages, Chinese auto companies are striving to expand their product layout, optimize industrial chains and enhance production capacity by working with partners both at home and abroad.

For instance, FAW Group has set a sales target of 3.47 million units and a sales revenue target of 636 billion yuan (about 89.53 billion U.S. dollars) for 2024.

According to Helmut Stettner, chief executive officer of Audi FAW NEV Co., Ltd., the NEV market in China has huge potential and is developing rapidly. The company will strive to become an industry benchmark in aspects of digitalization, efficiency and sustainability.

The company's production base in northeast China's Jilin Province boasts a planned annual production capacity of over 150,000 vehicles. Three pure electric models tailored for the Chinese market are expected to roll off its production lines by the end of this year and hit the market in early 2025.

The significant growth momentum of the automobile market demand is attributable to a series of combined measures adopted by the Chinese government to promote the development of the auto industry and consumption, as well as the steady recovery of China's economy, said Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

In 2024, NEV and automobile exports will remain the main driving force of China's automobile industry, and will continue to make contributions to the development of the global car industry, Xu added.

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