China also saw important progress in vehicle intelligence last year, with sales of passenger cars equipped with assisted driving systems accounting for 20 percent of all new vehicle sales.

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China sold 3.521 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2021, up 160 percent year-on-year, ranking first in the world for the seventh consecutive year, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said today.

The MIIT did not release a breakdown of NEV sales, but according to an announcement by the China Association of Automobile Makers (CAAM), China sold 3.334 million new energy passenger vehicles in 2021, up 167.5 percent year-on-year.

Of these, battery electric vehicle sales were 2.734 million, up 173.5 percent year-on-year, and plug-in hybrid sales were 600,000, up 143.2 percent year-on-year.

China's new energy commercial vehicle sales in 2021 are 186,000 units, up 54 percent year-on-year, according to the CAAM.

In terms of all vehicles, China produced and sold 26.082 million and 26.275 million vehicles, respectively, in 2021, up 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent year-on-year, ending a three-year decline, the MIIT said.

This has contributed significantly to China's sustained industrial and economic recovery and stable macroeconomic growth, the MIIT said.

China also saw important progress in automotive intelligence last year, with sales of passenger cars equipped with assisted driving systems accounting for 20 percent of all new vehicle sales, according to the MIIT.

The MIIT will make every effort to maintain the stable and healthy operation of the auto industry and step up efforts to promote the development of NEVs and intelligent connected vehicles, its announcement said.

China sells 531,000 NEVs in Dec, up 114% year-on-year, CAAM data show