Hongqi, the premium arm of China FAW Group, expects its sales to hit 450,000 to 500,000 units in 2022.

Qiu Xiandong, president of the State-owned carmaker, announced the goal at an online press conference on Tuesday.

Even if Hongqi sales hit the lower range of the target, that would mark a 50 percent rise from its deliveries of 300,000 units in 2021. The upper range of 500,000 stands for a 66.7 percent rise year-on-year.

Hongqi has seen its sales grow rapidly over the past few years. Last year, it ranked fifth in terms of sales in China's premium vehicle market after BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Tesla.

Besides Hongqi, FAW expects its two major joint ventures, FAW-Volkswagen and FAW Toyota, to see big sales rises as well this year.

Qiu said FAW's sales goal stands at 4.1 million units in 2022, up 17.1 percent from 2021 thanks to the prospects of China's growing vehicle market.

Total vehicle sales in China are estimated to grow 5 percent year-on-year to 27.5 million this year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.