Coming clean

Rising fuel prices and the energy crisis don't appear to have stemmed Chinese consumers' desire for mobility. However, international and domestic automakers alike are driving to further develop vehicles with more energy efficiency and lower exhaust emissions.

A clear response to that was the week-long Beijing auto show at the end of last month. No longer an area to solely highlight luxury sedans and gas guzzling SUVs, it's also become an arena for more environmentally friendly vehicles. Whatever colors are preferred, it also might signal the dawn of "green" autos in China.

The fleet of energy friendly cars among the 890 vehicles at the auto show was relatively small, but auto industry analyst Sun Qi of Sinotrust calls it "a sound response to the energy crisis, the call for an environmentally friendly world and the government's encouraging policies".

Along with a green themed fashion show presented by two designers from Berlin, Volkswagen China also exhibited its eco-friendly fleet. "High power and low fuel consumption performance is our development target," says Winfried Vahland, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.

The German automaker's exhibits hyped its turbo supercharged injection engine and direct shift gearbox transmission - two technologies to help Volkswagen accomplish its target of reducing fuel consumption and emissions of all its cars produced in China by 20 percent by 2010.

"We want to provide the public with fuel-efficient cars at an affordable price, not using high-cost technology like hybrid or hydrogen-power, although we had the capability to produce hybrid cars years ago," says Vahland. "We are making progress with the existing technologies."

However, hybrid technology seems to be the favorite of most automakers who want to show off their green sides.

Twelve new hybrid models made their China premiere, from global and domestic producers.

GM promises to launch a hybrid product every three months globally in the future.

It will start selling a gas-electric hybrid - possibly a Buick LaCrosse, a full-size sedan, after research found target buyers wanted a car that size - in China this July.

It will be the first manufactured hybrid in China and the second in the market following Toyota's Prius.

Toyota, which first introduced its Prius hybrid three years ago, displayed three new models based on its hybrid technologies, although it sold only around 400 Pirus models last year in China. Honda has sold only 150 of its Civic hybrids since last November.

"Green cars must become cheaper to be competitive in the marketplace," says Rick Wagoner, chief executive of GM. "The ultimate challenge is whether the automobile industry can get the cost down on hybrids enough to get them to pay off for the average guy."

Chinese automakers are also making their efforts on the high-efficiency, energy-saving vehicles.

Chery Automobile Co in Anhui province is out to cash in on the green car trend.

During the show, Chery exhibited a fleet of its eco-happy vehicles, including a diesel powered auto, a hybrid A5, fuel cell powered car which achieves zero exhaust, and a mix fueled A5 sedan which can be powered with a mixture from ethanol, gasoline and compassed natural gas.

Chang'an Auto Corp, China's fourth largest automaker, is the first to domestic car manufacturer to mass-produce hybrid cars. The country's first hybrid sedan Jiexun-HEV rolled off the production line at Chang'an plant in Chongqing last December.

The Jiexun-HEV can save energy consumption by over 20 percent, with a peak speed of 160 km per hour.

Chang'an Auto also displayed the first hydrogen-powered roadster at the show.

BYD Auto, a cellphone battery company that entered the auto business in 2005 is planning on using its experience in mobile phone battery development to construct dual-mode, gasoline-electric hybrid plug-in vehicles.

This fall, BYD plans to sell their F6DM gasoline-electric hybrid in China, followed by the smaller F3DM hatchback hybrid.

The automaker revealed its electric model E6 at the Beijing auto show. The model can run over 300 km once charged - the longest distance an electric vehicle can run in the world without being recharged.

(China Daily 05/03/2008 page7)