Honda to bring three hybrid models to China

Shanghai, May 10 (Gasgoo.com) Japanese carmaker Honda Motor plans to bring three of its hybrid car models to the Chinese market in the next two or three years, aiming to benefit from China's upcoming incentives for promoting green vehicles, media reported.

Honda Motor will start selling its Insight and CR-Z hybrids to Chinese buyers from 2012, and its Acura hybrid model will also be introduced to China within three years, company CEO Takanobu Ito told reporters at the recent 2010 Beijing auto show.

The No. 2 Japanese carmaker sold a record 580,000 cars in China last year, up 22.5%, lagging the overall passenger market's over 50% growth, but its January-March China sales picked up, surging 43% from a year earlier. Honda may increase sales to 630,000 vehicles this year in China.

The Chinese government has been urging automakers in the country to develop and make energy-efficient, eco-friendly clean vehicles and is expected to introduce stimulus measures such as tax-cuts and subsidies for green vehicles.

Dongfeng Honda, Honda's China venture with Dongfeng Motor Group, was also showcasing a new concept model Linian for its own brand at the recent Beijing show. The brand is due to begin selling its first car next year.

The joint venture, which will launch a second plant in Wuhan from 2012, plans to introduce a new brand for the Chinese market, while Guangzhou Honda will start selling a new low-cost car under the Everus brand next year.