SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd., China's largest listed automaker, said in a statement that it sold 4.01 million vehicles this year, up 11.9 percent from a year ago.

The growth was much higher than the average 3 percent growth for the whole industry in China, the largest auto market in the world.

Top three best selling cars in 2011—Excelle, Lavida and Cruze—were all made by SAIC.

It is expected to unveil a plug-in hybrid car and electric car next year.

The Shanghai-based company has set up R&D centers in Shanghai, Nanjing of Jiangsu Province and Britain's Birmingham with a 2,000-member-strong R&D team.