AutoblogGreen

During a recent international renewable energy forum in Beijing, Liu Zhijia, Assistant General Manager of Chery, said by 2010 half of Chery's vehicles will be hybrids and half of those hybrids will run on clean fuels. Here is exactly what he said:

New energy is a driving force for the sustainable development of auto industry, by 2010 more than fifty percent vehicles produced by Chery will be equipped with hybrid systems, and half of those vehicles will be powered by new energy.

Yin Tongyao, Chery's chief executive has said Chery "will reach annual sales of 1 million autos by 2010." That would translate to annual sales of 500,000 hybrids a year from Chery. For comparison, the total U.S sales for hybrids for 2006 was 254,545. Will Chinese hybrids flood the U.S market? Not right away. Chery does not intend to enter the US market for four years.

At the forum, Liu also said the hybrid development plan will have three phases. The first step has mild hybrid sedans starting production in 2008 which means that overall emissions from Chery vehicles will be reduced between 10 and 30 percent. The second phase is the development and mass production of full hybrids and electric/alcohol vehicles by 2010. That's when Chery expects half of its sales to come from hybrids. The final phase is the development of fuel cells cars by 2015.

The Chinese vice-minister for science and technology, Cao Jianlin, was also at the forum and he said the government will provide funding and tax breaks as part of a government plan to encourage green technology. Chinese auto makers Shanghai Automotive and FAW has also shown interest in hybrid technology. The future of Chinese hybrids looks bright.

[Source: Heliq]