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)]