GM To Build Hybrids In China
Posted at 07:09, 2007-Nov-29
Yes, GM hybrids will soon be assembled in China. General Motors said it intents to start making hybrids in the territory to step into the fast growing market. The car will be made in a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive, and will roll out in time for next year's Beijing Olympics.
The Detroit automaker announced last month that it is building a research center in Shanghai to develop hybrid technologies. Hybrids are designed to use a combination of power sources, usually petrol and electricity. And the automaker's goal of producing more hybrids isn't just a dictate of auto trend but an effort to save the Earth.
To aid the automakers, China's National Development and Reform Commission is deemed to be drafting plans to offer subsidies for low-emission vehicles.
The rules are expected to require that some of the components be made in China. Currently Toyota is the only company making hybrids in China - it sold 2,000 there last year. GM also announced that it will launch its plug-in hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt, by the end of 2010. The company has not given details of which model it will be building in China.
Shanghai GM, one of the automaker's joint ventures with SAIC Motor Corp, will disclose details closer to the undisclosed model's launch, a spokesman for GM Asia-Pacific said.
Toyota is currently the only automaker that manufactures a hybrid in China. In 2006, the Japanese automaker sold just 2,000 of the Prius.
Building hybrids in China, one of its vital markets, is a way of painting a more environmentally friendly image of itself as shoppers increasingly look for better fuel economy in the midst of rising energy prices.
Separately, the Detroit automaker is planning to introduce a plug-in hybrid - Chevy Volt, by the end of 2010. GM is the only automaker to give a timeline regarding the production for such green vehicle.