12-10-04 Shanghai-US auto maker General Motors (GM) says it will build its first hybrid bus in China next year, with the company's partner in Shanghai, to promote the technology for cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles. GM and Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp. will begin by developing one bus and test-run it in Shanghai to see whether the vehicle would be commercially viable in China, GM's vice-president of environment and energy, Elizabeth Lowery, said.
"We will see if there is opportunity for volume... if there is an interest in this technology from the government," said Lowery.

The number of vehicles on China's roads is soaring, bringing a growing reliance on imported oil and worsening already severe air pollution. In response, foreign auto makers are beginning to test some of their hybrid vehicles in China.
DaimlerChrysler has said it plans to test three hydrogen-fuel-cell buses in Beijing next year. Earlier, Toyota Motor Corp. said it will assemble and sell its Prius model, which is a gasoline-electric hybrid, in China.

Hybrids draw power from two energy sources, typically a gas or diesel engine combined with an electric motor.
"We're starting with the bus because you get the biggest bang for the buck," Phil Murtaugh, chairman of GM's China operations, told. Although the bus will be built in China with Shanghai Automotive, the key technology will not be shared with the China partner, and those parts will be imported from the United States, Lowery said.

According to GM, the buses could help save 40 % to 60 % in fuel and reduce some emissions by up to 90 %. It is unclear, however, whether the auto makers can persuade the Shanghai government or those in any other cities to purchase expensive hybrid buses.
Thousands of natural gas buses are already on the road in some Chinese cities, and the country has increasing access to natural gas, which offers a cleaner option than diesel or gasoline buses. Shanghai Automotive itself also has a program to develop buses with natural gas.