(Yicai Global) Feb. 26 -- The city of Xi'an in China's central Shaanxi Province plans to develop automotive industry cluster with an annual output value of CNY100 billion (USD15.7 billion) within five years, which will integrate production bases of heavy trucks, passenger car and sedans, the local government said.

The municipal government aims to create a comprehensive industry chain for automobiles covering the manufacture of the car models, special vehicles and spare parts in the city, it said in a policy paper.

Local authorities will invest an initial CNY1.5 billion in the project, which will produce over one million vehicles per year, and aims to attract major domestic players such as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and Shaanxi Heavy Duty Automobile Co. as well as other well-known firms. The government wants to bring in advanced production technologies to boost production capacity significantly.

The cluster will also focus on the expedition of technology development related to new energy vehicles including drive motors, batteries, electronic control systems and charging stations. China is a key battleground for the development of NEVs globally. Some 605,500 plug-in passenger cars sold in China in 2017 as the nation captured a 49-percent share of the global NEV market and grew 30 times faster than the worldwide average, according to data from industry researcher EV Volumes.