(Image credit: CnEVPost)

China's new energy vehicle sales reached about 1.37 million units in 2020, ranking first in the world for the sixth consecutive year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT) said in an August 26 report.

That's up 10.9 percent from 2019 and more than 1 million units for the third consecutive year, the report showed.

The MIIT released its annual report on the development of China's automotive industry (2021) on Thursday, the first of its kind.

Global sales of new energy vehicles surpassed 1 million units in 2017 and reached 3.07 million units in 2020 as they help combat climate change and optimize the energy structure, the report said.

China sold 25.31 million vehicles in 2020, down 1.9 percent from a year earlier, and was the world's No. 1 for the 12th consecutive year, the report said.

Car sales in the US, Japan and Germany in 2020 were 14.45 million, 4.6 million and 3.27 million units respectively, down 15.2 percent, 11.5 percent and 18.6 percent year-over-year, due to Covid-19.

Qu Guochun from MIIT said the report showcases the development of the automotive industry in several dimensions, including policy-led market development, technological progress, and industry management.

According to Qu, MIIT will monitor the industry trends to support the government's decision-making and clarify the policy direction to provide guidance for enterprises' strategic planning.

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