GUANGZHOU, Nov. 10 -- Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group) will step up its efforts in automobile R&D and technological innovation.

As of June, the company's R&D input amounted to 26.7 billion yuan (about 3.8 billion U.S. dollars) during the past dozen years, according to Wang Qiujing, who oversees the GAC R&D Center.

"Technological innovation is the lifeblood of business," Wang said, who also noted that increasing investment is vital for achieving innovation, and only by grasping core technologies can GAC be more competitive in the automobile industry.

Many technological achievements demonstrated at the just-concluded Tech Week held by the center are expected to be mass-produced and equipped on GAC's self-owned automobile brands in one to two years.

China's automobile production and sales for the first nine months of 2019 declined by 10.3 percent and 11.4 percent year on year to 18.15 million and 18.37 million, respectively, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Yet the numbers for new energy vehicles (NEVs) remained robust in the first three quarters this year, with 872,000 sold and 888,000 manufactured, increasing by 20.8 percent and 20.9 percent, respectively, compared with the same period of last year.