BEIJING - CHINA'S car exports hit a record high of 340,000 units last year, more than double that of 2005, Xinhua news agency said yesterday, quoting a Ministry of Commerce official.

The cars were mainly sold to emerging markets such as the Middle East, Latin America and Russia.

Sedan exports topped 90,000 units, triple those of the previous year, the official was quoted as saying.

Customs statistics show that China's vehicle exports surged 120 per cent from 78,000 units in 2004 to 173,000 units in 2005, with export volume hitting US$1.58 billion (S$2.43 billion).

China is aiming to increase its vehicle and car parts exports to US$120 billion, or 10 per cent of the world's vehicle trading volume, in the next 10 years, Vice-Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo said in November.

The ambitious goal compares with car and car parts exports that now account for just 0.7 per cent of global trade in those product categories.

To prevent domestic carmakers from getting into cut-throat competition and to weed out companies that are too small to be serious exporters, China is to establish export quotas this year, Xinhua said without elaborating.

'According to the 2007 catalogue for export licence management, no company will be able to export cars, full sets of car spare parts or car chassis without prior authorisation,' it said.

China said late last month that it would raise the threshold for investment in new car projects in a bid to rein in mounting overcapacity.

Carmakers that wish to add new plants must prove that they have been able to sell at least 80 per cent of their annual production capacity the previous year, according to earlier reports in the state media.