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]

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]

As is the case with so much of the pre-Beijing Motor Show news, details on Changan Automotive's new hydrogen concept are sparse, but rest assured that the automaker's display will be headlined by the green vehicle. Weighing in at 750 kg (1,653 lbs) with a drag coefficient of 0.28, Changan promises a car offering performance comparable to a world-class gasoline engine, only emissions-free and more fuel efficient. Whether an actual production vehicle is anything more than a pipe dream is still to be determined. We'll follow up during the week as Autoblog Chinese ramps up its Beijing coverage.

[Source: Autoblog Chinese]

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]