China's NEV sales in 2023 may rise by up to 40 percent year-on-year, as customers' demand continues to soar, said a top expert of China EV 100, a major think tank in the industry.

The growth rate will prompt deliveries to hit 10 million units, said Zhang Yongwei, vice-president of the think tank, on Thursday. He also expects NEVs to account for roughly 40 percent of total vehicle sales in China in the year.

Over the past years, top-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing are seeing the growing popularity of NEVs, but Zhang said car buyers in smaller cities are emerging as a new customer group as well.

In the first 11 months last year, 54 percent of China's NEVs were sold in non-tier-one cities, and the figure is expected to rise further this year.

A survey by China EV 100 shows that carmakers will launch at least 100 NEV models this year in China, which will help attract car buyers from gasoline cars.

Zhang said exports will help drive NEV sales as well. Last year, carmakers in China shipped overseas 3.11 million vehicles, up 54 percent from 2021, of which 679,000 units were NEVs, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.