China wants to sell 35 million vehicle a year by the time 2025 comes around and expects at least one-fifth to be new energy vehicles (NEVs).

In a market road map published by China’s Ministry of Industry, the country said it wants over 7 million NEVs sold annually by 2025, a significant increase over the 2 million it wants sold by 2020.

Last year, green energy car sales accounted for less than 2 per cent of China’s overall market in 2016 where 28 million vehicles were sold. However, the government has enacted a number of new policies to encourage citizens to purchase more environmentally-friendly vehicles, Reuters reports.

“The quality of Chinese brand vehicles has clearly risen, while brand recognition, reputation and global influence are much stronger. By 2025, we should have some Chinese vehicle brands that are in the global Top 10 by sales,” said the Ministry of Industry.

Alongside announcing its plan on more vehicles being sold in the country than ever before, the ministry said it will loosen joint venture ownership restrictions which only permit overseas carmakers to own a 50 per cent state in a domestic automaker.

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