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 (CAAM).

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

"The NEV is the main direction of the transformation, upgrading and green development of the global automobile industry, and is also the strategic choice for the high-quality development of China's automobile sector," 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.

Feng Xingya, general manager of GAC Group, said that, since China registered its first NEV project in 1992, the country's achievements in developing its NEV sector have been remarkable, 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 had 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 CAAM.