General Motors to build hybrid cars in China next year
By Our Corporate Bureau | 29 Nov 2007
Mumbai: General Motors Corp, the world's largest auto maker, will start producing hybrid vehicles in China from August next year, in time for the Beijing Olympics.
Plans are under wraps now and Shanghai GM, the US automaker's Chinese joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp, will disclose details closer to the model's launch, a spokesman for GM Asia-Pacific said.
Chinese demand for hybrid cars is negligible as they are expensive without government incentives.
Japan's Toyota Motor Corp is currently the only carmaker that builds a hybrid car in China. The company sold just 2,000 of the Prius hybrid last year.
GM is also planning to launch a plug-in hybrid car, the Chevrolet Volt, by the end of 2010, becoming the only automaker to provide a timeline on production for the rechargeable vehicle.