Olympic Hybrid Cars to be Mass-produced This Year

SHANGHAI - August 21, 2008:

There are more than 500 new-energy vehicles ferrying athletes and spectators during the ongoing Beijing Olympic Games. They include the Chery A5 and Changan Jiexun hybrid-electric sedans, Shanghai VW's hydrogen fuel-cell sedans, Beiqi Foton's hydrogen fuel-cell buses, and Zhongtong's electric buses.

Most of these Olympic new-energy vehicles will start mass production, sooner or later, after the Olympics, said sina.com.cn today. The Chery A5 and Changan Jiexun hybrid sedans will be mass-produced by the end of this year.

Of the 50 hybrid vehicles offered by Chery for Olympic services, 40 are Chery BSG hybrids and 10 Chery ISG hybrids. The first model is a stop-start hybrid based on a 12-volt belt starter-generator (BSG) linked to a 1.6L gasoline engine. The second is a more comprehensive mild-hybrid based on the same vehicle but equipped with a 1.3L gasoline engine and a 12kw crankshaft-mounted 151-volt integrated starter-generator (ISG).

These technologies provide significant fuel savings through the use of advanced powertrain control and energy management strategies. The Chery A5 hybrid version to be launched after the Olympics will combine the hybrid technologies of both models. The Chery A5 hybrid will be priced between 10,000 yuan ($1,460) and 20,000, higher-priced than the basic A5 series.

Changan Auto has supplied a number of "Jiexun" hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) as taxis for the Beijing Olympic Games. The power electronics for the "mild hybrid" drive was provided by Infineon Technologies AG. By using Infineon's HybridPACK1 power module, Changan's Jiexun HEV cars can speed up to 160 km/h while reducing 20% of gasoline consumption compared to those with combustion engine.

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