Great Wall Motor expects China's overall auto sales in the second half this year to return to the same level as last year, its president said, as the world's biggest auto market recovers from a coronavirus-driven low.

Facing a sales downturn and fierce competition, China's top pickup truck maker "will pursue reasonable sales and higher market share in order to better guarantee the profitability and brand image," Wang Fengying, president of Great Wall Motors, said in a statement.

Great Wall Motor will roll out electric models as well as gasoline-electric hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, Wang said, adding that the Baoding-based company plans to start selling hydrogen fuel-cell passenger cars in 2023.

Read more: China car sales mark first rise in nearly two years, mainly due to heavy trucks

The company, which has invested 17.5 billion yuan (2.46 billion U.S. dollars) in technology research and development in the past five years, will spend 30 billion yuan on electrification, intelligent vehicles and mobility technologies in coming years, Wang said. She did not give details of the investments.

Saying that China's auto production and sales will enter a low-speed growth stage, Wang urged the government to support the country's automakers' overseas expansion.

Great Wall Motor agreed to buy two plants in India and Thailand from General Motors earlier this year. It plans to sell more pickup truck models in ASEAN countries, Australia, South Africa and South America.

To better manage the supply chain, Great Wall Motor, which is building a plant with BMW, will localize production of more "core car parts," she said.