Honda Motor to Start Selling Hybrid Cars in China

Japan's Honda Motor Co will start selling hybrid cars in China, where there is growing interest in energy-efficient vehicles to help combat severe pollution, the company said Thursday.

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

'We will initially export hybrid Civics from Japan to China. Local production is one option for the future, but there is no specific plan for it yet,' she said.

Toyota Motor Corp was the first foreign car maker to produce hybrid autos in China, in late 2005, with its Prius model.

Hybrid vehicles, which deliver power by switching between a gasoline engine and an electric motor, can save up to 30 percent on fuel costs, but they are more expensive than conventional models.

Honda Motor sold a record 323,469 automobiles in China in 2006, 25.9 percent more than a year before.

But the company has acknowledged that competition is fierce in China as more automakers try to sell cars in what is emerging as the world's second largest auto market after the US.