General Motors plans first hybrid car sales in China

[jwight]

AP
General Motors plans first hybrid car sales in China
Saturday April 19, 3:08 am ET
GM plans to sell first hybrid cars in China in July; model was designed partly in Shanghai

BEIJING (AP) ** General Motors Corp. will sell its first gas-electric hybrid cars in China in July, introducing a model created in part by GM's Shanghai design center, the company said Saturday.

The Buick LaCrosse will be the second hybrid to enter the Chinese automobile market following Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius in early 2006.

The LaCrosse is due to be unveiled Sunday at the Beijing auto show, GM managers said. They said it would be priced under 300,000 yuan ($43,000; 27,000 euros) ** comparable to the Prius.

The hybrid is powered by GM’s Ecotec D-VVT 2.4-liter all-aluminum engine. Hybrid functions include start-stop; early fuel shut off during deceleration; regenerative braking; and intelligent battery charging.

Full story here:http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080419/china_auto_show_gm.html

[Ralph Finneren]

Lets hope the General can bring some of this to the USA...along with the eagerly anticipated Volt. GM needs some better B segment cars than the Aveo.......and better C class than the cobalt/G5 which are okay but long in the tooth in this rapidly evolving segment. As a GM guy, i gnash my teeth when I think of how the Cavalier was left unchanged in the market for 10 years to do battle with the updated every 4 years corollas, civics, etc. Now the domestics are in the position of having to get off their SUV/pickup addiction (& former big profits) and learn to do battle in the B/C segments against some formidable competitors. GMs push to electrify vehicles is the best hope.......if they can figure out how to do it affordably. Rumors of a $35,000 price point for the Volt are scary....

[jwight]

Ralph, I agree completely. GM seems lost in a fog and always years behind changing trends. They have two mid-size hybrid cars now - the Malibu and Saturn Aura (actually the same car). The best those cars can do is an EPA rating of 32 mpg highway. They're about the same price as a Prius which gets another 10 mpg from it's full hybrid setup. And yes, a $35K Volt with a maximum 40 mile range - not gonna be a big seller IMHO.