Auto Shanghai attracts a mixed bag of hybrid models

        THE Auto Shanghai 2007 has, as in previous years, drawn many top-name car makers to show off their latest models but this year's show with its emphasis on the environment has also garnered a new hybrid of vehicles.
       
        General Motors Corp has invited the designer of its Opel Astra GTC sedan with Panorama windshield and Astra TwinTop sedan to the show. The two models will hit the Chinese market after their Asia debut at the show, also known as the 12th International Automobile and Manufacturing Technology Exhibition, which starts today and ends on April 28 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in Pudong New Area.
       
        Audi, Volkswagen's luxury car brand, debuted its S07 concept model globally at a preview last night.
       
        "The auto show has been one of the best ways for car makers to showcase their research and development capability, products as well as exchange views with each other," said Frank Y. Chou, associate partner of Value Partners Management Consulting.
       
        More than 1,300 car makers and car components makers from 20 countries and regions will attend the show.
       
        Other major attendees include Toyota, Honda, Renault, Ferrari, Hyundai, Peugeot and Citroen with a combined 100 imported models, and car components makers such as Delphi Corp and Dana Corp.
       
        Global chief executive officers from GM, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Toyota will visit the show, considered one of the world's most influential auto events.
       
        Mercedes-Benz Corp will introduce its upgraded S350 fl agship sedan as well as its AMG series at the show as well as other sleek models, including its sports utility vehicles and CLK coupe.
       
        In keeping with the theme of the Auto Shanghai 2007, "Technology and Nature in Harmony," several environmentally friendly and new energy vehicles will be on display.
       
        There will be a total of 30 new energy vehicles with various alternative fuels covering hybrid, bio-diesels and electric fuel-cell.
       
        GM will also unveil two concept cars including the Buick Riviera and Chevrolet Volt equipped with its latest electric and fuel cell technology, E-Flex, to the world for the first time.
       
        A hybrid version of Roewe 750 will be debuted by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp in addition to a fuel-cell vehicle under the Shanghai brand, a historical brand that hasn't been used since the 1980s.
       
        Anhui Province-based Chery, the nation's fourth-largest car maker, will also bring three of its latest new energy vehicles with three different alternative fuels.
       
        Besides the spectacular display of new, exotic and trendy concept models, auto makers also announced plans to produce more models in China to further expand their product lineup to boost sales and meet domestic demand.
       
        Ford Motor Co said yesterday it will make a version of the Mondeo sedan this year and a new compact in 2008 in China while Mazda Motor Corp, partly owned by Ford, plans to produce its Mazda 2 hatchback in its Chinese venture.