SAIC Motor Corp will produce its first electric car

[simily]

SAIC Motor Corp will produce its first electric car and plug-in hybrid this year, Ling Tianjun, chief engineer of SAIC's new energy vehicle division, said last week at the Automotive News China Conference here.Production of the E50 electric car will begin in October. The car, powered by lithium ion batteries, has a maximum speed of more than 75 miles per hour and a range of 150 km. A full recharge of the battery pack takes six hours.In December, SAIC plans to start producing its R550 plug-in hybrid, Ling added.

Fitted with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine plus a lithium-ion battery pack, the plug-in can travel up to 50km on battery power. It achieves 50 percent better fuel economy than a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle.In 2010, SAIC started production of its first conventional hybrid vehicle. Built on the platform of SAIC's Roewe 750 mid-sized sedan, this vehicle is 20 percent more fuel efficient than a comparable gasoline-powered model, Ling said.

SAIC also has developed a fuel-cell powered car using the platform of the Roewe 750 sedan. However, the company has not indicated a timetable for production.Ling, who previously worked for Ford Motor Co. in the United States, was hired by SAIC in 2006 to lead its EV division in Shanghai.If you are interested in China's auto market, or you want to invest in China's auto market, we can help you better to enter Chinese market.More info,you can visit: chinacir.com

[loreanice]

It will be the first EV ever produced by Shanghai Volkswagen, and it will be the first vehicle sold by the joint venture under its own brand.