China's car production and sales respectively reached 2.84 million units and 2.83 million units in December of 2020, and also increased 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent 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 2.33 million and 2.38 million units in December, jumping 6.5 percent and 7.2 percent year-on-year, while the respective figures for commercial vehicles were 509,000 units and 456,000 units, up 2.3 percent and 2.4 percent year-on-year, respectively. 

The above figures mark the ninth consecutive month that China's auto 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 25.23 million and 25.31 million units, down 2 percent and 1.9 percent, and the decline narrowed by 5.5 percentage points and 6.3 percentage points, respectively. 

China's auto market has become one of bright spots in the global auto market in 2020, with annual sales accounting for 33 percent 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 auto industry has performed much better than expected, Chen 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 55.7 percent and 49.5 percent from a year earlier. And the respective annual figures for last year were 1.37 million units and 1.37 million units, up 7.5 percent and 10.9 percent 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 optimized, 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, Lin added.

Next year, the number of cars produced is expected to surpass 26 million units, up 4 percent 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 auto market is still huge, said Chen Shihua.

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