Associated Press A model poses next to a new BYD e6 electric vehicle at the Shanghai International Auto Show. The aggressive plans illustrate China's growing commitment to electrified vehicles and its strategy to support auto makers developing various types of electric cars and components with research subsidies. The government sees environmental upsides and a chance for its car makers to gain ground on foreign rivals, since electric vehicles are simpler to engineer than gasoline-engine ones.
Electric vehicles are "definitely affordable and environmentally friendly technology, and we think there's a huge potential market in China for them," Li Shufu, Geely's chairman, said in an interview Monday. Making electric vehicles affordable will be critical for them to have an impact on the environment, as vehicle ownership continues to rise quickly. The hundreds of thousands of new cars being added every year to roads in China could further damage already shaky air quality if they are oil-based vehicles.
The battery-powered cars that Chinese companies are showing are intended to be much less expensive than those planned by big foreign companies. Great Wall Motor Co., based in northern China's Hebei province, on Monday unveiled its planned GWKulla all-electric car, which will likely be one of China's cheapest battery-powered cars when it hits showrooms as early as next year. Its expected price tag is between 60,000 yuan and 70,000 yuan, or about $8,780 to $10,250. The GWKulla, a short, curvy compact, runs on lithium-ion batteries and can go 160 kilometers (99 miles) when fully charged, the company says. Chery showed a tiny battery car, the Riichi M1, that boasts similar technology and performance, and is likely to be priced under 100,000 yuan.
Geely's Panda, which Geely executive Frank Zhao said the company plans to launch in China as early as October, will be similarly priced. Those prices are much lower than that of General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, which is expected to sell for $40,000 when it goes on sales in the U.S. in late 2010. GM plans to launch the Volt in China in 2011. Chinese auto makers also showed other types of "new energy" vehicles, including regular gasoline-electric hybrids to compete with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid. Among the most notable: a gas-electric hybrid Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. plans to launch by the end of next year. China's technologies for electric vehicles, especially batteries, are still lagging behind in some important ways. And while many of the cars being shown this week in Shanghai are touted as "cutting edge" by their producers, it remains unclear how well they will perform -- and how Chinese consumers will react to such "new energy" cars. In early testing, reviewers said a plug-in electric hybrid sedan from China's BYD Co. launched late last year had some kinks.
