China is aiming to become a world auto-making powerhouse in a decade, with Beijing aiming to boost development and output of new energy vehicles (NEVs) and also relax restrictions on foreign ownership.
The Xinhua news agency reported that the country will strive to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies and markedly increase the share of Chinese brands in the international auto market by 2025, according to an auto industry development plan released Tuesday by three government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
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By 2020, China will see NEV output and sales hit 2m annually, the plan said, four times the current level.
China sold 507,000 NEVs last year, the most in the world for a second year and up 53 percent from 2015, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Restrictions on foreign ownership in the country's joint-venture car makers will be relaxed "in an orderly manner," the plan noted, Xinhua reported.
China currently caps foreign stakes in joint ventures in the domestic auto industry at 50%.
The government plan also predicted China's annual auto output will reach around 30m by 2020 and 35m by 2025.
