China will aim to have the capacity to produce 30 million light vehicles a year by 2020, according to an industry association, a figure that is lower than analysts' estimates of the country's current capacity.

 

The capacity target was outlined in a speech that Vice-Secretary Shi Jianhua of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers made on Friday. He detailed the goals that the Communist Party will set for the auto industry when it meets later this month to decide the country's economic blueprint for 2016 to 2020.

 

The speech did not specify whether the 30 million units refers to passenger cars or the overall auto market, but consultancy IHS estimates China will produce 23.5 million passenger and light commercial vehicles this year and already has capacity to make 36 million units annually.

 

Shi predicts that the country's next five-year plan will aim for an annual production capacity of 2 million vehicles for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles by 2020, the speech says.

 

The Five Year plan aims to put 5 million EVs and plug-in hybrids on the road by 2020.

 

The Five Year plan also proposes to lift the market share of Chinese-brand vehicles to more than 60 percent, up from 41 percent of the passenger car market this year.

 

The central government also wants to create five globally competitive automakers, which would require significant consolidation of Chinese automakers.

 

China's government will also aim to boost annual auto exports to 3 million unts, up from this year's goal of 860,000 vehicles.