(Yicai) Dec. 4 -- China’s aims of having new energy vehicles account for half of all cars on the roads is likely to happen a decade ahead of schedule, according to Miao Wei, the country’s former minister for industry and information technology.

The country targets a 50 percent penetration rate for NEVs by 2035, but that will probably happen by 2025 or 2026 at the latest, The Paper today reported Miao as saying at this year’s China Automotive Industry Forum.

China sold just 777,000 NEVs in 2017 but nearly 6.9 million last year, a penetration rate of 28.2 percent, surpassing a targeted 20 percent three years early, Miao noted.

Amid rapid growth in China’s NEV industry, sales of NEVs made by domestic brands reached nearly 6 million in the first half, up 22 percent from a year ago for a market share of 53 percent. 

That was the first time for Chinese automakers to outsell foreign-branded passenger cars, changing the long-term trend of domination by overseas companies in the Chinese passenger car market, Miao said.

The auto industry has seen comprehensive changes, and there will be further fundamental transformations, not only in technology but also in the way enterprises operate, as well as investment and financing, profit models, and usage patterns, Miao added, noting that the NEV sector now involves sales of software and services to a greater extent, alongside hardware sales.

Editor: Tom Litting