There had been some speculation about Beijing's plans to force traffic restrictions in order to reduce the city's pollution for the Summer Olympic Games. At first, traffic restrictions were proposed but they were axed, then proposed again. We also saw some other creative measures to control pollution with limited resources and available time.

Nevertheless, this time it seems that restrictions are for real:

First, from July 20 to September 20, vehicles registered in Beijing with license plates ending in an odd number will only be allowed on the roads every other day. So, on days when odd numbered license plates will be allowed, vehicles with license plates ending in an even number will be banned. Taxis, ambulances, postal delivery, and other public vehicles will be exempt.

Second, Beijing's public workers have been instructed to leave their cars at home and use nothing but mass transit until the Olympic games have ended. According to the European Space Agency, the Chinese capital and neighboring provinces have the world's highest levels of NOx.

[Source: Chinacartimes]

The city of Beijing has been generating the kinds of headlines that cities usually want no part of. Ahead of the Olympic games, many athletes have been publicly deriding the city's air quality, and rightly so. According to the World Health Organization, the current air pollution in Beijing is at least two to three times higher than levels deemed safe. City officials have been doing what they can with the limited resources and time that is available to them, but Detroit News writer John McCormick, on assignment covering the Beijing Motor Show, reports that there is a long way to go before things are truly cleaned up.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Click image for a gallery of the BYD e6

Unfortunately, the arrival of the Beijing Motor Show didn't bring much new information regarding the BYD e6 electric MPV concept, but there's still news to report. The tech spec sheet displayed with the car indicates that it's (theoretically?) got motors for both the front and rear axles. Autoblog Chinese did a walkaround of the green people mover on the floor, taking pictures of the exterior from every angle. BYD thoughtfully accessorized the e6 with a cute model to boot, and as you'll see in the attached gallery, she and her male counterpart positioned on the other side of the car help illustrate the size of the five-seat MPV. As we reported during the runup to the show, the all-electric e6 is said to have a 300-kilometer operating range on a full charge and could possibly go into production within the next two years, according to BYD Auto.


[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

It would seem that a green theme will be present when Auto China 2008 kicks off in Beijing on Saturday. We've already seen BYD's e6 concept, and next up is an electric version of the Great Wall Peri. The Peri is the car that raised the ire of Fiat due to its strong resemblance to the Panda. Copycatting arguments aside, the Peri EV concept is pretty self-explanatory: it's an electric Peri driven by a 50 kW electric motor. With lithium-ion batteries supplying power, the Peri EV is claimed to have a maximum operating range of 180 kilometers (111 miles), a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), and an operating cost of under 100 yuan ($1.43 USD) per 100 kilometers. The reported 70 percent charge in 10 minutes sounds a shade optimistic, however. We expect to hear full details about the Peri EV concept as the show gets underway this weekend.

[Sources: Autoblog Chinese, Autoblog Spanish]

This week in Beijing, BYD will unveil the e6, an EV crossover/MPV concept that looks a lot like the JDM Honda Odyssey. Unlike the Honda, however, the e6 runs on battery power only, with a reported range of 300km (186 miles) on a full charge. The battery pack, presumably lithium-ion, can be charged via a 220V household outlet or attached to a quick-charger that delivers an 80 percent charge in fifteen minutes. Performance-wise, the e6 is capable of acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mpg) in ten seconds and has a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). The battery pack is stored beneath the car's rear seats, a position BYD says provides the best protection in the event of a crash. According to the company, the e6 could reach production within two years. We'll keep an eye out for updates as the show gets underway next week.

[Sources: Autoblog Chinese, Autoblog Spanish]

In case you're not familiar with First Automobile Works (FAW), as its name suggests, FAW was the first company in China to mass produce vehicles. Their Jiefang CA-10 medium truck began production in 1956. They have a bit of a history in electric and hybrid cars as well, building the Prius in China for Toyota through a joint venture and building the Miles range of NEV's, an electric version of the Daihatsu Move.

It seems that FAW was not content simply building other company's hybrid designs, having just announced its new Besturn B70HEV hybrid sedan at the 2008 Beijing Motor Show. Using a 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine, water-cooled permanent magnet motor and 288 volt nickel metal hydride battery pack, the hybrid can accelerate from 0-100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in 12.5 seconds. Emissions are reduced by 31.8 percent while gasoline consumption is cut by 42.8 percent. Not too shabby for a first effort, we'd say.

[Source: Autoblog Chinese (translated)]

Chery Motors first came to the worlds attention a few years ago when one of the first products, the QQ mini-car turned out to have a rather startling resemblance to the Daewoo Matiz which was being sold in China as the Chevy Spark. It turned out on closer examination that the components on the QQ and Spark were actually interchangeable. This sparked (forgive the bad pun) the ire of General Motors which attempted to sue Chery both for stealing the design of the car and too closely copying the Chevy brand mark. Chinese intellectual property protections being what they are (that is to say, almost non-existent), the QQ is still on the market. Now it appears that Chery is getting set to launch a new small car - possibly to be dubbed the QQ2 - at the upcoming Beijing Motor Show. Many previous attempts by Chinese manufacturers to create original designs that did not not bear an excessive resemblance to an existing car while also being aesthetically pleasing have been, to say the least, wildly unsuccessful. Not so this time. While not hugely original, the S18/QQ2 is reasonably easy to look at. The big question is will something like this car be used as the basis for whatever collaboration may ultimately happen between Chery and Chrysler?

[Source: China Car Times]

Just yesterday, Sam wrote about the environmental clean-up measures that are taking place in China. These clean-up measures are necessary because China is on the development fast-track, so to speak. The country is being built up at an extremely rapid pace, much like the United States was during the Industrial Revolution. The buildup in China can be seen clearly in Shanghai, as the pollution levels in that city are similar to those found in Los Angeles, California, which happens to have the worst air quality in all of the United States.

China plans to do something about their environmental concerns before it is too late, according to this article from the Detroit Free Press. Might China be the first country to install a hydrogen infrastructure in a city? Possibly, and a date as early as in 2010 is mentioned in that same article. As automakers push forward hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, an infrastructure will be necessary in order to fuel those vehicles. If the target dates of 2010 from companies such as General Motors - which sells lots of cars in China - is to believed, then the 2010 date for the refilling stations would make sense. That is, if you believe the hydrogen as a fuel source makes sense in the first place. Speaking of the General, they have at the very least shown proof that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could in fact be made, and can travel lengthy distances on a single tank, as Sam witnessed first hand.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

The 2007 Shanghai Auto Show is set to get underway on the 20th of April and China's largest auto manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), will be on hand to debut a new fuel-cell vehicle. SAIC, which recently made headlines when it bought the Rover brand off BMW, said that the Shanghai-branded fuel-cell prototype will utilise fourth generation fuel-cell technology developed in-house to produce a peak power output of 60 kW / 80.5 hp that should propel the vehicle to a top speed of 150 km/h / 93 mph.

SAIC is investing one billion yuan (US$129 million) in developing cleaner, more energy efficient vehicle technologies. The company plans to produce 50,000 electric vehicles of various types by 2010, some 95 percent of which will be hybrids. Via a joint venture with Volkswagen, SAIC is aiming to produce 500 Touran hybrids before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Analysis: SAIC have also partnered with GM to develop hybrid vehicles of the booming Chinese market. Clearly they're planning to roll out the latest tech to the Chinese market as it comes online in Western nations as well. I think Shanghai is going to be an interesting show this year.

Related:

• Video: Rick Wagoner on GM's commitment to energy diversity. And new E-Flex concepts soon?
• Chinese government to promote greener cars
• Shanghai Automotive building a hybrid "Rover 75"

[Source: Shanghai Daily]