BAIC to mass produce all-electric vehicles next year

Beijing Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (BAIC Group) will begin mass-production of all-electric vehicles in 2011 and will roll out 30 units of the C60 electric cars this year, the Beijing News reported Monday.

BAIC, the Chinese partner of Daimler AG and Hyundai Motor Corp, also plans to put into operation a production base with annual capacity of 40,000 new energy vehicles in the second quarter of next year.

Lin Yi, who is responsible for BAIC's new energy vehicle project, said among the 3,500 all-electric vehicles to be built next year, the C60FB using the Saab 9-3 platform will account for 800 units, the C301 based on the C30 will account for 1,200 units and the rest 1,500 units will be the M30 R B electric minivans. At present, ten C60FB electric cars have rolled off the assembly line.

BAIC, the country's fifth-largest automaker, will make all-electric vehicles based on its C-, B-, A+-, A- and A0-class models as well as its mini vehicles in the future.

The initial C60FB will be available in 30kW and 60KW versions, both adopting the lithium-ion battery and permanent magnet synchronous motor. The first version has a top speed of 160 km/h while the second version has a peak speed of 190 km/h.

Under the Group's '12 5' plan (2011-2015), its new energy vehicle base will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, 200,000 control systems and of 150,000 driving systems when operation starts and will generate annual sales revenue of 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion).

Source: Automotive News