(Yicai) Oct. 23 -- Changan Automobile will invest CNY250 billion (USD35 billion) from now until 2029 and add 10,000 people to its technology innovation team to develop intelligent vehicle technologies, the chairman of the Chinese car manufacturer said at the recent Changan Technology Ecosystem Conference.

The leading manufacturer of fossil fuel-powered vehicles plans to launch 37 new smart electric car models onto the global market in the next three years, Zhu Huarong said. Changan Auto's long-term goal is to achieve annual sales of five million vehicles by 2030, of which 60 percent will be new energy vehicles and 30 percent will be overseas shipments, he added.

"Changan Auto will wholeheartedly support the business development of its three new energy marques Deepal, Avatr and Changan, regardless of their ownership structure or the technology they have actually adopted, with all our financial and human resources," Zhu said.

Changan Auto’s Avatr marque is jointly developed with tech giant Huawei Technologies and battery behemoth Contemporary Amperex Technology. Deepal has also adopted Shenzhen-based Huawei's intelligent driving technology but to a different degree.

Changan Auto launched its latest model, the Nevo E07, under its long-standing Changan brand at this year's Technology Ecosystem Conference. The car features Changan Auto's self-developed intelligent driving system, which can achieve Level 2+ assisted driving capabilities. With different combinations of trunk and cabin, the Nevo E07 can be configured either as a sports utility vehicle or a pickup truck.

In order to enhance the capabilities of its self-developed intelligent driving technology, Changan Auto has developed a cloud computing power cluster for the training of smart technologies, said Chief Driving Technology Officer Tao Ji.

All Changan Auto's high-end smart cars will come equipped with more than 500 Tera-Operations-per-Second of computing power in the future. The firm aims to become a leader in the industry by 2027, Tao said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor