GAC Group, a major automobile manufacturer based in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, realized an increase both in sales and production in 2023, amid fierce market competition in the industry, the company said in an announcement on Friday.

Production and sales of the company increased 1.97 percent and 2.92 percent year-on-year last year to reach 2.53 million and 2.5 million vehicles respectively, according to the announcement.

Particularly, the company's sales of new energy vehicles increased by 77.55 percent year-on-year to 549,602 units, mainly driven by its NEV arm Aion, the company said.

To build an efficient new energy ecology, GAC Group has accelerated the development of a vertically integrated industrial chain, which includes lithium mining, basic lithium battery material production, battery production, energy storage and charging service, battery leasing, and recycling.

The company announced in early January that it will rapidly deploy at least 10,000 1000V high-voltage platform supercharging terminals nationwide.

The company aims to challenge the target of achieving a 10 percent year-on-year sales growth in 2024, according to the announcement.