Workers work on the assembly line at a factory of vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. File photo: Xinhua

Chinese new-energy vehicle (NEV) company BYD announced on Wednesday that it has produced and delivered 3 million NEVs, making it one of the first automakers in the world to hit this sales milestone, which speaks volume for China's auto manufacturing prowess and the country's accelerated push toward a greener economy.

At the event to celebrate the milestone number held in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday, the No. 3 millionth vehicle was rolled off the production line, and then delivered to women's football star Wang Shuang.

BYD is the first Chinese automaker to hit NEV sales above 3 million units. On a global scale, US NEV-maker Tesla's sales also hit 3 million in August, just ahead of BYD.

According to a statement BYD sent to the Global Times on Thursday, it took 13 years for the NEV-maker to deliver its first million vehicles, and another one year to make its total sales climb to 2 million. And it only took half a year to reach 3 million, demonstrating a continuous rise of China's auto industry and a speedy ride of Chinese automakers in NEV industry. 

"It is one of the best pieces of evidence underscoring China's transformation from 'big auto nation' to 'strong auto nation,'" according to the statement, noting that China's rapidly-amassing NEV industry will also aid the global carbon neutrality goal.

BYD's founder Wang Chuanfu said earlier that the company has acquired core technology across the industrial chain, including power battery, chips and electrical machinery, and "achieved self-sufficiency," after years of developing since entering the auto industry in 2003. 

BYD will continue gearing up investing in global markets, and promote the NEV industrial chain's globalization, according to the statement. The company has sold NEVs in over 400 cities and 70 countries and regions. 

In the first 10 months of 2022, China's NEV sales more than doubled year-on-year to over 5 million units, accounting for over 60 percent of the global share. And from January to October, the exports of NEV also jumped 96.7 percent to 499,000 units, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.