First Automobile Works are planning to launch their first pure electric vehicle this year, the Besturn B50, and will be FAW’s first mass produced electric vehicle. At the same time, FAW’s Tianjin subsidery, XiaLi, are also planning to launch a pure electric vehicle. An initial production run is set to happen soon in small numbers and an end of year launch is expected.
By the end of the year China will have five pure electric vehicles in production, including the BYD E6, Chang’an Ben Ben Mini and the new FAW vehicles, …

The Chinese automotive media, and also the foreign media, have been impressed by China’s generous subsidies of upto 60,000rmb for pure electric car buyers, which really is a great first step to encouraging consumers to take up electric car ownership, but one major stumbling block remains: You cannot buy a pure electric car yet.
In recent years, Chinese automotive shows have been full of electric concept cars, but until recent subsidies were announced it appears that none of them were actually approaching production and the vast majority seemed to stay at …

According to the new energy office and policy maker Mr. Liu Jian Hua, Shanghai city is developing its own plans to promote green cars in the city in a bid to clear up the cities automotive smog. Should a Shanghai resident buy a plugin hybrid, they will be able to receive a 20,000 subsidy, and it is expected that buyers of pure electric vehicles will be able to obtain a government subsidy of between 40,0000 and 50,000rmb. It is hoped that the planned subsidies maybe put into action before the …

It was seen here before, but now it’s officially official: BYD and Daimler signed a joint-venture agreement to develop electric car(s) for the Chinese market.

The new company, called Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd will owned 50:50 by BYD and Daimler. The two companies will invest RMB 600 million (about 88 million USD) to form the new joint-venture, headquartered in Shenzhen, the same city as BYD.

The China Daily is reporting that the at least 15% of the auto market will be made up of hybrid and electric auto sales by 2020, whilst 7 to 12% of global sales will be electric vehicles. So is China expected to jump over other markets when it comes to electric car development? The answer is likely to be a large yes, at this years Beijing Auto Show practically every auto maker had at least one or even two pure electrics or hybrid cars on show. There is also large …

The Dongfeng S30 Hybrid Sedan is set to launch later this year according to various sources, with an exact date not yet being set. The Dongfeng S30 hybrid uses stop start technology that stops the engine as soon as the car comes to a halt for an extended period of time, for example when the S30 reaches a set of traffic lights or a busy junction where it needs to wait for a few minutes then the car will turn off the engine and then start again as soon as …

Now the electric car market seems to be really hotting up with contenders both internally and externally putting China ahead as one of the more important markets for the electric car:

SHANGHAI — U.S. electric vehicle maker Aptera Motors is now in China looking for production partners, in order to significantly reduce costs and speed up volume production for markets in North America and China.
In 2011, Aptera Motors of San Diego, California, will launch the Aptera 2e; a two-door, three-wheel vehicle. “We would build vehicles here …

The news for BYD must be quite shocking, (no pun intended) as Guangzhou city is literally BYD’s own back yard:
From the Detroit News:

Guangzhou, China — The Renault-Nissan Alliance, the government of Guangzhou Municipality in China and Dongfeng Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co.’s Chinese venture partner, have formed a partnership to promote electric car transport in the city of Guangzhou.
Nissan and its partners will conduct a feasibility study of the infrastructure development and incentives required to make electric cars accessible to customers in Guangzhou, a large city formerly known as Canton.
The …

Despite the QQ3 being ready for a facelift, Chery appear to be doing some fairly advanced work on an electric model:
The pictures clearly show that the QQ3 Electric (QQ3E) has had its tail pipe removed, and a charging port installed instead, the gearstick is the type that is usually utilised on small electric cars with only drive, reverse, and neutral being available.
The Chinese press are expecting the QQ3 Electric to cost around 50,000rmb when launched, however it could be that the Chery M1 electric hatch will be launched first, …

The next generation Toyota Prius has been spotted out testing in China, the Prius is currently in production via the FAW-Toyota JV in North East China, and has not seen spectacular sales since its launch.
The Prius biggest short coming is its high price of around 200,000rmb to 250,000rmb, making it a perfect car for the wealthy green conscious consumer. On the other hand, a 1.6L car will cost anything 60,000rmb to 120,000rmb, a 1.8 compact sedan will be anything from 110,000 to 180,000rmb and 2.5-3.0L V6 sedans are in the …

The Toyota Prius is not a common site in China, possibly due to its high price and a general populace that is more interested in buying a car that gives more bang for your buck rather than less bang for your buck, but more green credentials. Even producing the Toyota Prius in China via the FAW JV hasn’t given the car much of a price cut, the Honda Civic hybrid for example, is made in Japan and imported into China yet they cost roughly the same price.
Toyota do not …

Dalian is a very nice city in the North East of China. CCT used to live there when he was a wee-nipper, and I guess that the Dalian City Government really want to keep it China’s most hospitable city
Dalian will soon be getting 100 Chery A5 BSG Hybrid taxi cabs which will be in service before the end of the year. Chery has also delivered 150 A5 BSG model taxi’s to the Wuhu City Government for use as taxi cabs, where as BYD have only received 30 orders from their …

From CCT Green:
Chang’an is well prepared for the upcoming green revolution, they’ve been selling some well designed cars for the past few years but sales have not been all that great. Their ben ben model was their greatest success so far, but their latest MPV and sedan offerings have not faired so well in the wealthy Eastern areas of China.
The sales set back is not delaying Chang’ans march towards a greener future, with the state owned automanufacturer planning to make two different hybrid cars, including a mini hybrid hatch/sedan.