Volkswagen displays its ID. 3 electric model at the 2021 China International Import Expo held in Shanghai. [Photo by Hu Xuebai/For China Daily]

SHANGHAI－New-energy vehicles are expected to grab an over 30 percent share of China's auto market by 2025, said China EV100, an electric vehicle industry think tank.

NEV sales in the world's largest auto market are expected to exceed 5 million units in 2022 and reach at least 7 million units in 2025, said Zhang Yongwei, vice-president of China EV100, adding that in an optimistic scenario, sales could even reach 9 million to 10 million units.

In the January-November period, NEV sales amounted to about 2.99 million units, surging by 166.8 percent year-on-year and accounting for 12.7 percent of the nearly 23.49 million units in total sales of new vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

In the next three to five years, medium and small-sized cities and the vast countryside will become an important market for driving the growth of NEV sales in the nation, Zhang said.

With government subsidies being scaled back in 2022 and the launch of foreign brand models, NEV manufacturers are expected to face fiercer market competition in the next few years, Zhang added.