Will GM Be Going Chinese?

Will General Motors, the number one auto manufacturer in the United States, be going Chinese?

It may actually be so. You see, just last 6th of November, General Motors has informed the public that they would be building their own range of hybrid cars that are known to be friendly to be environment in the Asian country of China. This would be taking effect and would be starting operations come the year 2008.

The Shanghai plant of General Motors would be where these hybrid cars would be built. The whole deal would have to be a joint project of General Motors’ Shanghai plant as well as that of the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Of course, it was yet to be announced if the company still plans on also creating their other products like GMC truck parts and the whole lot in the mentioned plant. The only sure product that they would be manufacturing here would be those hybrid cars and vehicles.

On this, Martin Murray, the current head of the company’s Asia Pacific hybrid engineering team, did mention, "The GM Hybrid System is flexible and cost effective and is ideal for high volume global applications, which include its introduction in China in 2008."

Aside from Murray, Rick Wagoner, the chief executive officer of General Motors, was also reported to state, "We believe fuel cell vehicles offer the best long term solution for meeting the world’s growing demand for automobiles in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. From a China and Asia Pacific perspective, development of world class fuel cells and the associated infrastructure are key initiatives that need the support of industry, government and the academic community."

Some of the hybrid vehicles that General Motors is offering include the 2006 Chevrolet Silverado Classic as well as the 2006 GMC Sierra Classic. From the company’s Saturn brand is the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid cars. The 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and the 2008 GMC Yukon are also hybrid vehicles.

It was back in the year 2003 when the company introduced its hybrid technology. However, this technology was used by GM for its mass transit buses.