China's auto giant FAW Group Corp recently said that it plans to invest 19 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in research and development (R&D) over the next five years to speed up its own-brand vehicle development and to boost sales, Shanghai Daily reported.

FAW Group, Chinese partner of Toyota Motor and Volkswagen AG, expects its auto annual sales to hit 4 million units by 2015, with its own-brand vehicles accounting for 50% of the total. Its sales grew 27% to 1.94 million units last year and the sales target for this year is set at 2.3 million.

As part of its efforts to improve its car-making technologies and build up its brand image, the No. 2 auto group in China aims to focus R&D on its home-grown vehicles. Most Chinese automakers intend to raise their sales volumes and market shares by developing their own vehicle brands.

Changchun-based FAW Group, which makes its own-brand Besturn and Xiali cars, will launch 26 new or revamped vehicle models by 2015. The plan will include 11 brand-new vehicles, with four under the Redflag (Hongqi, or HQ) brand, the oldest Chinese car nameplate.

FAW is expected to launch its plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars in October on a trial basis. The company has invested 300 million yuan in these cars' engineering.