CHANG'AN Automotive Group, China's fourth-largest automaker, said it will produce more than 250,000 auto vehicles under its own brand by 2010, following other domestic automakers in setting up their own brands.

According its first-ever blueprint for self-branded vehicles, the coming models would mostly comprise mini sedans and compact cars. However, the Chongqing-based carmaker also plans to make mid-to-high range sedans under its own name.

The move signals that Chang'an, producer of mini vans such as Chang'an Star, aims to aggressively expand its production lineup to include more passenger cars as this segment grows by double digits annually.

"We are accelerating our plan to steer to self-brand cars as a long term project because it (the segment) is growing quickly in the Chinese market," said Xu Liuping, president of Chang'an Auto.

Sales of self-branded cars now account for over 25 percent of the total car sales nationwide. The growth rate of self-branded cars is about 10 percentage points higher than that of the total car sales, according to Jiang Lei, executive vice chairman of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.