provided by: 
Shanghai. January 23 (Gasgoo.com) Shanghai GM will launch its firsthybrid vehicle, a LaCROSSE equipped with E-co Hybrid system in June or Julyof this year, the company announced yesterday.
LaCROSSE will be the first middle and high end Hybrid vehicle to be launchedin Chinese market. The vehicle could reduce fuel consumption by at least 15percent. Besides LaCROSSE hybrid, Shanghai GM also plans to launch three lowfuel-consumption engines this year.
Toyota Prius, the first Hybrid vehicles sold in Chinese market, startedlocal production in China at the end of 2005. However, the vehicle's salesperformance in Chinese is encouraging: the model sold only 414 units lastyear, according to China National Association of Passenger VehicleManufacturers.
Experts say there are two factors leading to hybrid vehicle's discouragingsales: first, hybrid vehicles usually are 180%-190% more expensive thanconventional vehicles; second maintenance costs for hybrid vehicles aretwice as much as conventional vehicles.
Honda Civic hybrid is the second hybrid vehicles imported to Chinese marketby Dongfeng Honda just two month ago. The importer has not release anyreport on this vehicle¡¯s sales performance in Chinese market so far.
The launch of LaCROSSE hybrid will make Shanghai GM the third joint ventureautomaker to deliver a hybrid vehicle in China following Toyota and Honda.Toyota Motor Corp is currently the only carmaker that builds a hybrid car inChina. Honda started to sell imported Civic hybrid in China starting lateNovember.
Last week, China's first local brand hybrid vehicle Jiexun rolled offassembly in Changan Automobile. The hybrid vehicle can save up to 20 percentfuel consumption compared with conventional vehicles and its tailpipeemission can meet EU-IV standards.
http://www.gasgoo.com
Read article at Autochannel.com