Shanghai GM to debut Chevrolet Sail EV at Auto Guangzhou 2012

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai October 12) - Shanghai GM will debut a new electric version of the Chevrolet Sail at the upcoming Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition, the National Business Daily reported today. The news came from Shanghai GM General Manager Ye Yongming, who added that sales of the Chinese-made electric will begin soon after. Mr. Ye also added that a plug-in hybrid version is in the works, with an anticipated release date of 2015.

The electric Sail (pictured) is powered by a lithium ion battery. It boasts a top speed of 130 km per hour, and can be driven for up to 150 km on one charge. Charging time is approximately seven hours.

Due to its high price tag and incidents of its engines spontaneously catching fire, GM's Volt electric has failed to achieve its 2011 goal of 10,000 global sales, with only 7,671 units sold over the year. The Volt's performance has yet to make a turn for the better this year, with 10,666 units sold from January to July, far short than its annual production volume of 45,000 units. Its performance in China has been even worse, with reportedly only 24 units sold over the first eight months of the year. The majority of those purchases were made by enterprises.

There have been reports of GM halting production of the Volt for five weeks in order to deal with increasing inventory levels. However, GM China commented that it had not received any notice regarding the issue.