'If You Go Away ... Will It Be Able to Get You Back?'

It was small and perhaps a little clunky beside its gleaming neighbors. But Yang Xinmin confessed to a grudging admiration as he studied its specifications.

"It's strange, unique. I do like it, but you have to think about the practicalities," said Yang, a driver for a Chinese firm. "You can't go so fast, it can't go very far and it's on a battery - if you go away, what's to say you'll be able to get back?"

China, like the rest of the world, has yet to embrace the electric car. But domestic manufacturers in this highly polluted, oil-hungry and rapidly developing country are trying hard to create a buzz around it at the China Auto Show. Great Wall, known for SUVs, is showing the Kulla and Peri electric cars - though both are at least two years away.

Foreign firms also see potential. General Motors said yesterday it would launch the Volt hybrid in China just after it hits the US market in 2010. A few models are on show from other firms and scores of hybrids suggest that environmental issues and fuel prices are making their mark in China.

But car makers are bullish about prospects here, predicting sharp rises in sales of conventional vehicles. Last year the Chinese bought 8.5m vehicles, compared with just 1.6m in 1997. Foreign car makers predict up to 65% growth in sales this year - the kind of rise needed to make up for the economic gloom elsewhere.

China is already the world's largest market after the US and sales are expected to rise by 15-20% this year. As dozens of tiny local firms are squeezed by foreign competitors, niche products - such as the electric car - may offer their best prospects.