HAVAL Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun is aiming to produce the company's first fully autonomous vehicle by 2020.
The company is working on an autonomous driving system collaboratively with engineering teams in the USA, India and China. Prototype models have already reached Level III autonomy and are being tested this year.
Level III vehicles still require drivers, but can shift "safety-critical functions" entirely to the vehicle, under certain traffic or environmental conditions. Essentially, the car can drive and monitor the environment itself.
Chairman Wei said the company would invest a further six billion dollars into a globalized research and development system by 2020 to keep the company at the cutting edge of automotive technology.
In addition to autonomous vehicles, the company is investing heavily in alternative fuel technology, focusing on plug-in electric hybrid vehicles.
Chairman Wei made the announcement at the HAVAL Million Sales Celebration event in Baoding, China last month.
"We will continue to specialize in SUVs as we work toward our goal of being the biggest SUV brand in the world by 2020."
HAVAL has been the biggest-selling SUV brand in China since 2002. Last year its top selling model – the H6 – was the fourth biggest selling SUV in the world with more than 580,000 units sold.