Hafei Saibao electric car passes US crash test

Hafei Automobile Group said it will start volume production of its high-speed Hafei Saibao electric car in late 2009, when the car is also expected to be sold in the US market, the Jinghua newspaper reported Thursday.

The Saibao electric car, developed jointly by Hafei Auto and Tianjin Qingyuan Electric Vehicle Company, is mounted with lithium ion traction batteries and will become the first all-electric vehicle to realize volume production worldwide.

The car passed the test by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) of the United States in late August last year, as China's first own-brand car that has successfully passed the crash test.