BAIC to sell three new EV models this year

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai May 20) - This year will be an important one for BAIC Group's electric vehicle business, with the manufacturing focusing on testing of new pure EV models. According to a report appearing on Beijing News today, BAIC will begin selling three new pure EV models–the E150EV, Weiwang 306 microvan and Shenbao–this year. At least 5,000 BAIC EVs are to be manufactured and driven on Chinese roads by this year, with over 1,000 of those being used for public transportation, municipal sanitation and taxi service. In a recent interview, BAIC Group CEO Xu Heyi, there are currently nearly 10,000 new energy vehicles from BAIC in the country, with over 6,000 of those being driven in Beijing.

According to the manufacturer's most recent five-year development plan, BAIC aims to manufacture and sell three million automobiles by 2015, with business income totaling 350 billion yuan ($56.48b). BAIC own brand vehicles' sales volume is expected to surpass 500,000 units. In addition to sales from Foton, own brand sales will constitute over 65 percent of the manufacturer's total sales.