China's 20 millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) rolled off the production line on Monday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, creating a remarkable milestone for the country's NEV sector.

The car was produced by GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. With this record, the NEV sector has entered a new stage of large-scale, globalized and high-quality development, and is becoming an important part of China's modern industrial system, according to Fu Bingfeng, executive vice-president and secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

"We spent 15 years to produce first 10 million NEVs, and only 17 months to produce the second 10 million. We believe policy guidance plays a significant role. We see more than 70 policies being issued," said Fu.

The announcement was made by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology during a ceremony in celebration of the new record held in Guangzhou.

"Manufacturers should improve brands’ vitality through technology innovation, and stick to innovation and development that focus on internationalization and globalization. We will support Chinese companies to have technology cooperation in new batteries and automatic driving, letting achievements of scientific innovation benefit people around the world," said Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, in his speech at the ceremony.

GAC Aion is an NEV subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group) based in Guangzhou.

"We've reached the scale of 20 million. In future we will go global to promote high-quality development of our NEVs," said Gu Huinan, general manager of GAC Aion.

According to GAC Group, since China registered its first NEV project in 1992, the country has made remarkable achievements in developing its NEV sector, as its current production and sales volumes for NEVs have both ranked first worldwide for eight years in a row.

In the first five months of this year, the country produced over 3 million units and sold 2.94 million units of NEVs, up 45.1 percent and 46.8 percent year on year, respectively, according to the association.