FAW Group Corp, China's second-largest auto manufacturer by sales, aims to sell three million vehicles this year, said Xu Jianyi, the group's chairman on Thursday.

"Despite the global economic downturn, sales of FAW will keep increasing. We will try to meet the target of 3 million vehicles this year, an increase of 15 percent year-on-year," said Xu on the sidelines of the annual sessions of the Jilin provincial people's congress and CPPCC.

Xu estimated that 70 percent of the growth will come from its production base in Changchun, capital of northeastern Jilin province.

FAW, the parent company of Shenzhen-listed FAW Car Co, is engaged in two joint ventures: one with Volkswagen AG, which makes Volkswagen AG and Audi AG models; and the other with Toyota Motor Co, which produces the Vios, Corolla, Reiz and Crown sedans in China.

Last year, the group sold 2.6 million cars, 1.03 million from the joint venture with Volkswagen AG and half a million from the joint venture with Toyota Motor Co.

The group's revenue reached 346.4 billion yuan in 2011, an increase of 26.6 percent over the previous year. Exports from the group surged 59.4 percent to $500 million last year. Xu said the group will expedite the construction of its overseas production base to develop more business opportunities in key markets such as Europe, Africa and South America.

By the end of 2015, FAW plans to lead the domestic market in terms of revenues and profits generated by its brands, with annual sales reaching 600 billion yuan ($91.5 billion), or 20 percent of the domestic market.