Gasgoo.com (Shanghai March 30) - As the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition draws ever nearer, electric vehicles have once again found a place in the media spotlight. According to a report appearing in the Nanfang Daily today, a slew of upcoming EVs have shown up on the most recent Ministry of Industry and Information Technology new vehicle production list, including offerings from Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Yueda Kia.
A new 1.5 L hybrid from FAW Group on the list is hinted to be a future model in the manufacturer's upcoming Oley own brand. Meanwhile, EVs from Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Yueda Kia are suspected to be for their respective Venucia and Dianyue own brands. Dongfeng Yueda Kia is expected to take a page from FAW-VW's playbook by building the new EV on the Kia Cerato platform. A SAIC Roewe pure electric and GAC Trumpchi hybrid also showed up on the list. Even Jiangxi-based Jiangling Motor made an appearance, with a brand new pure EV sedan reportedly in the works.
Steering away from EVs, Dongfeng Honda's new Elysion minivan was sighted on the list. The high-end minivan made a showing at last November's Auto Guangzhou 2011 exhibition in concept form (pictured above), and is expected to make its market debut this July. The Elysion will be the JV's first minivan and will be priced above Guangqi Honda's Odyssey.
Beijing Hyundai's updated ix35 (pictured below), which is scheduled to make a showing at the Beijing show, was also listed. The new ix35 will be powered by the same 2.0 L Nu engine used in the Kia Sportage-R.
Finally, FAW Hongqi's new C131 sedan also made an appearance on the list. The C131 comes with 2.0 L turbocharged, 2.5 L V6 and 3.0 L V6 engine options, all powered by a six-speed manumatic transmission. FAW is hoping that the new Hongqi will succeed Audi's A6 and A8 to become the future government car of choice.
