GM Will Build Hybrids in China

1 Comment 29 November 2007

By Brendan Moore

11.28.2007

Automotive News China reported today that General Motors will start manufacturing a hybrid car in China next year. GM intends for the vehicle to be available in China for the Beijing Olympics in August 2008.

Since all the people in China that want a hybrid can probably all comfortably fit within a single city block in Beijing (gasoline is cheap in China, subsidized by the government), one has to assume that GM is making sure they don’t get upstaged by the Toyota Prius, which just started production in China recently itself. Toyota sold 2000 units of the Prius in China last year.

China is a very important market for GM, and there is no way that they are going to let Toyota win any public relations battle there, or, for that matter, there is no way that they will not put their best foot forward in supporting the Chinese government’s desire to portray China as a good global citizen. A hybrid car produced in China does both of those things.

« Family Hauler – 2008 Toyota Sienna Limited AWD Review

Used Car Markets Kinder to the SUV Lately »

Your Comments

1 comment

georgie worst says:

November 29, 2007 at 12:09

Obviously just window-dressing from both Toyota and GM. But, I’m glad the hybrids will be available in China, no matter what the reason.

Share your view

What we do

We love cars and the car business, no matter where that takes us - United States, Japan, Germany, France, China, Brazil, Australia, India, the U.K, etc. You get the idea. No subscription fees, no sign-up, no sign-in - all you have to do is just show up and start reading. We provide both opinion and information. We have two writers in the EU, one in Asia, and five in the U.S. We focus on the United States (because we're here), but we want our readers to have the benefit of seeing a global picture regarding automotive products and industry. We hope you enjoy the site.