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Beijing Automotive Group Co, the Chinese partner of Hyundai Motor Co and Daimler AG, is betting that developing SUVs and new energy cars is the best way to achieve growth of its brands.

Xu Heyi, chairman of the fifth-biggest Chinese auto group by unit sales, said last week that SUVs, which he referred to mainly as off-road vehicles, and new energy vehicles are "our two trump cards".

BAIC Group, which started making off-roaders in the 1960s, is the first SUV producer in the country, and its subsidiary, Beijing Electric Vehicle Co, is one of China's best-selling new energy producers.

"It will be great if we do a good job in the two segments. It's unnecessary for us to be an all-rounder," Xu said.

BAIC Group is gaining momentum in both of these two sectors. Last year, its sales of SUVs and new energy vehicles under its own badges doubled, to 27,000 and 103,000 units respectively.

In the first half of this year, the company moved 14,000 SUVs, up 37 percent from the same period a year earlier. Deliveries of its new energy vehicles soared by 78.5 percent to 54,000 units in the same period. The company's SUV lineup includes the BJ20, BJ40 and BJ80 and their variants, retailing from 150,000 yuan to 350,000 yuan ($21,830 to $50,936).

Xu said BAIC Group will add larger models and plug-in hybrid versions to its SUV lineup.

In terms of new energy vehicles, it has a barrage of pure battery-powered models, such as the EC, EU and EX series, which sell for 90,000 yuan to 400,000 yuan.

The company will also have plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell cars in the future, Xu said. He added that the company will provide pure battery-powered cars under its all-new premium brand, the Arcfox, in late 2019 or early 2020.

The first Arcfox model, with a steel-aluminum body, is being co-developed by BAIC Group and Canadian parts producer Magna International Inc, and will be made at a joint venture plant between the two parties in East China.

Xu said Beijing Electric Vehicle Co is in the final process of a listing on the Shanghai stock exchange, and the shares are set to start trading "at the end of this month or the beginning of September".

"By achieving that, BJEV will be the first listed new energy vehicle producer in China, which is of industrywide significance," he said.

China first outsold the United States as the world's biggest new energy vehicle market in 2015, propelled by government subsidies and stricter emission rules. BAIC Group and other local companies as well as foreign players are speeding up their efforts to offer more new energy models in the country.

To enable more customers to experience its SUV products, Xu said the company is building a 400-hectare "SUV town" on the outskirts of Beijing for SUV racing and entertainment. The site will be put into operation next year.