Shanghai Automotive rolls out hybrid vehicle

A hybrid vehicle was rolled out by state-run Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. and the company said it has plans to introduce a plug-in model next year, in a bid to fend off foreign competitors and attract environmentally-minded people in China. The Roewe 750 Hybrid sells for 235,800 yuan (US$36,916) compared to Toyota’s Prius hybrid, which starts at 259,800 yuan (US$40,745). Shanghai Automotive in 2004 acquired technological assets from U.K. carmaker MG Rover and these were used in the production of the Roewe 750 Hybrid, which is positioned as a top-class model. The hybrid is based upon an existing gasoline vehicle and can run 100 km on 7.5 liters of gas, a 20% improvement over conventional gasoline vehicles. The hybrid costs 74,000 yuan (US$11,583) more than the gasoline version, but buyers will receive government subsidies of 32,000 yuan (US$5,000). (October 25, 2011)