More automakers to buy Hunan Corun hybrid powertrains

Hunan Corun New Energy Co, which supplies batteries for Toyota Motor Corp's China-made hybrids, expects a sixfold jump in the number of vehicles it will equip next year with its own gasoline-electric systems as more automakers embrace the technology to meet a deadline for lowering fuel consumption.

Four Chinese assemblers, including Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co, Haima Automobile Group Co and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, have agreed to buy the company's hybrid powertrains for as many as 30,000 vehicles in 2017, Corun Chairman Zhong Faping said. Corun likely swung to a profit last year as demand for its battery components rose from customers such as Toyota.

China has excluded hybrids from the subsidies doled out to electric-car buyers and plug-in autos as part of its strategy to reduce tailpipe emissions and dependence on imported oil. The government also requires automakers to lower the average fuel consumption of their vehicles to 5 liters per 100 kilometers by 2020, from the current 6.9 liters per 100 km.