GM and SAIC to build ‘green’ cars
American carmaker General Motors and China’s SAIC have signed an agreement to collaborate on manufacturing fuel-efficient hybrid cars for the Chinese market.
GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner and SAIC chairman Hu Maoyuan signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday in Shanghai that will see the two firms working together to develop a range of hybrid vehicles which run on a combination of electricity cells and petrol.
Initially the joint venture will involve expanding their existing hybrid bus project, which they now intend to develop as a working fleet for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
The companies are also working together on a number of further automobile projects, which they plan to get into production as early as 2008 — a full two years ahead of the World Expo.
Wagoner said: “To make this happen we need to bring down costs and build the necessary infrastructure. And the best way to do that is by business and government working together.”
SAIC’s Hu said: “By further strengthening our partnerships and enabling our joint ventures to play a major role in the development process, we hope to get clean energy vehicles to market at the earliest possible date.”
Yesterday’s agreement builds on an original deal that the pair made last October to develop and build clean energy vehicles.
