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DCX, BMW, GM Open Hybrid Car Center in Michigan


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
BMW Chairman and CEO Helmut Panke (left) is joined by DaimlerChrysler incoming Chairman Dieter Zetsche (center) and General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany Monday, September 12, 2005.

Washington DC October 4, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, and BMW opened a new Hybrid and Development Center yesterday in Troy, MI, intended to help the automakers catch up to Toyota, Honda, and Ford in the area of gas-electric hybrid vehicles, reports The Detroit Free Press.

The automakers have relocated over 500 engineers, technicians, and specialists to the center, including more than 150 engineers from Europe.

The initial focus of the center will be the development of a 2-mode hybrid system, which should boost fuel economy by up to 25 percent.