Building high-quality vehicles has become a top priority for GAC Motor, a subsidiary of the Shanghai and Hong Kong-listed Guangzhou Automobile Group, for ensuring its future business growth, according to a senior company executive.

"The fast growth of the company in the past years was based on the principal - to build high-quality vehicles," said Yu Jun, president of GAC Motor. "It has also become our top priority to maintain a sustainable business growth in the future."

Yu made the remarks after the company presented its high-end SUV GS8 as a gift to China's short-track speed skater Wu Dajing, who won China's first and only gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games.

"The principal of building high-quality vehicles will help to boost GAC Motor's brand in the domestic and global automobile industry," Yu said.

He said the company has established a quality control and management system covering the processes of design, production, sales, logistics and after-sales service.

Thanks to its strict quality control system, GAC Motor's GS8 was given a five-star C-NCAP (China-New Car Assessment Program) rating in early July with a score of 57.7 - the best score among medium and large-sized SUVs, setting a new safety benchmark for the category.

The company's GS3 followed suit in December, winning a gold medal in the C-ECAP (China Eco-Car Assessment Program).

GAC Motor has established strategic cooperative ties with 10 leading global suppliers and in 2017 set up a research and development center in Silicon Valley in the United States, according to the company.

The automaker star models - the GS7 and GS3 SUVs, the GS8 MPV and the GA4 sedan were all released in 2017, helping GAC Motor to consolidate its position in sales in the domestic market.

GAC Motor also put its brand out in the global market, participating in the North American International Auto Show in 2017 and 2018.

The event provided a platform for the company to demonstrate its innovations in research and achievements in manufacturing.

The automaker was also selected as the official car of the Fortune Global Forum, held in Guangzhou in December, supplying 380 vehicles for officials and delegates from some of the world's most influential businesses.