Machines do the welding work on cars at Geely's manufacturing base in Beilun district, Ningbo. [Photo/Xinhua]

The automobile industry in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, the city's biggest industry, has made great strides in recent years, according to the Ningbo Municipal Economic and Information Technology Committee.

Data from the committee showed that in 2017, the top automobile manufacturers – those with an annual revenue of over 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) – produced a total of 235.59 billion yuan in output, a year-on-year increase of 21.2 percent.

This figure represents 14.8 percent of Ningbo's total industrial output and 47.6 percent of the entire province's car industry.

"Ningbo's development environment for the automobile industry has been optimized with the government's strong support and the completion of an industrial chain," said Yin Jichong, vice general manager of Ningbo Weifu Tianli Turbocharging Technology Co Ltd.

Last year, Ningbo began focusing on the manufacturing of components and parts, as well as new-energy vehicles. At the same time, it promoted the application of "internet plus" technology and robots within the car industry to improve efficiency and expand production.

"Ningbo has created an industrial cluster for car manufacturing," said an official from the city's economic and information technology committee. He explained that Ningbo will focus on the research and development of core technologies and intelligent vehicles in the following years.