BEIJING - China welcomes foreign companies to make investment and tap into the opportunities in its automobile market, a trade official said Thursday.

The demand is huge for new energy vehicles (NEVs) and other automobile products in China as the market is entering a new phase that features diversified demand and quality-oriented purchases, Gao Feng, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said at a press conference.

Gao's remarks came after the US electric carmaker Tesla Inc broke ground on its first overseas factory in Shanghai on Monday.

Tesla's new factory will be a boon to the development of China's NEV sector, pushing forward industrial upgrades and bringing domestic buyers more choices, Gao said.

As the first carmaker to set up a wholly-owned company in China, Tesla has witnessed and benefited from the new round of China's opening up to the outside world, Gao said.