Honda Motor to sell hybrid cars in China

Japan's Honda Motor Co will start selling hybrid cars in China, the company said Thursday.

Dongfeng Honda Automobile, a joint venture between Honda Motor and Dongfeng Motor Group Co, will start selling Honda Civic hybrid cars in China by the end of 2007, a Honda Motor spokeswoman said.

"Initially we will export hybrid Civics from Japan to China. Local production is an option for the future, but there is no timetable for it now,"she said.

This makes Honda Motor the second automaker after Toyota Motor Corp to export hybrid cars to China. Toyota began to produce hybrid Prius in China in late 2005.

The model will be more competitive compared with Toyota's Prius in price. Toyota's Prius were sold between RMB280,000 and RMB302,000 in the Chinese market.