China's first self-produced hybrid-power sedan, the Jiexun-HEV,
rolled off the production line on Thursday at a Chang'an Automobile
plant in Chongqing. It is expected to be put onto the market
soon.
A Ministry of Science and Technology official said the new sedan
was developed using China's self-owned intellectual property rights
in terms of the engine, hybrid power system and the car as a whole.
This marked the mastering of core technologies in hybrid-power
system by a Chinese auto enterprise.
Xu Liuping, president of the Chang'an Automobile, said the
Jiexun-HEV was a major component of the "electrified automobile
program" in the state backed high-tech plan, known as the 863-Plan.
With a development period of six years, the car had finally become
a mass-produced model with internationally-advanced
technologies.
He said the car adopted a fuel-battery hybrid technology and
reduced fuel consumption by more than 20 percent compared with
traditional cars. The emission also met the state's standard IV,
the highest standard in China.
Xu said that ten Jiexun-HEVs would be donated to the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games to be held in August next year.
Currently in the Chinese market, hybrid cars were mostly imports
that had not performed very well in the market due to high prices.
Quite a number of Chinese auto plants have been developing hybrid
cars but Chang'an was the first to make it possible for mass
production.
The price of the new car would be sharply lower than the
imported equivalent models, Xu said.
Chang'an Automobile is China's fourth largest auto enterprise.
The China Association of Automobile Industry statistics revealed
that in the first 11 months the company had sold 772,300
automobiles.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2007)
