China's automobile production and sales volumes both surpassed 30 million units for the first time in 2023, hitting a record high. The country exported 4.91 million units of cars, and is set to become the world's largest car exporter, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Thursday.

In December, the production and sales volumes of new energy vehicles in China reached 1.17 million and 1.19 million units, respectively, up 47.5 percent and 46.4 percent year-on-year. NEVs accounted for 37.7 percent of the market share in the month, the association said.

In 2023, the production and sales volumes of NEVs in China reached 9.59 million and 9.5 million units, respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 35.8 percent and 37.9 percent. The market share of NEVs reached 31.6 percent for the whole year, which was 5.9 percentage points higher than that of 2022, the association said.