China wants its domestic brand vehicles to account for 50 percent of its passenger vehicle market by 2015 as it drives to reduce its alliance on foreign auto makers after years of doing assembly work.

A revised blueprint for China's auto industry also targets China's self-branded cars to take 40 percent of the nation's total car market by the same time, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in a proposal.

Total sales of Chinese brand passenger vehicles including cars, sport-utility vehicles, minivans and multi-purpose vehicles, hit 4.09 million units for the first 11 months of this year to occupy 44 percent of the entire auto market.

Chinese brand passenger cars also powered ahead to take a 29-percent market share as domestic makers gained most from a preferential tax on small cars.

Industry analysts said that if the upbeat sentiment continues, the government's target is likely to be achieved on schedule. "In order to meet the target, I think the government will continue to launch supportive measures," said Tan Jijia, a Pacific Securities analyst.

The central government is promoting Chinese self-branded vehicles to take its own auto industry, which is led by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, battery and electric car maker BYD Auto and Geely Automobile Co, to a higher gear.

The nation's largest car maker, SAIC, reported sales of its own brand MG and Roewe jumped more than 160 percent to 80,000 units by November. The car maker aims to more than double the sales to 180,000 units next year when three new models will be available.

The new outlook for China's auto industry is expected to be issued in the first half of 2010 after soliciting opinions from major domestic auto groups. The blueprint would also encourage the development of new energy vehicles.

(Shanghai Daily December 29, 2009)