SAIC Motor will produce its first electric car and plug-in hybrid this year, Ling Tianjun, chief engineer of SAIC's new energy vehicle division, said last week at the press conference here.

Production of the E50 electric car will begin in October. The car, powered by lithium ion batteries, has a maximum speed of more than 75 miles per hour and a range of 150 km. A full recharge of the battery pack takes six hours.

In December, SAIC plans to start producing its R550 plug-in hybrid, Ling added.

Fitted with a 1.5-litre petrol engine plus a lithium-ion battery pack, the plug-in can travel up to 50km on battery power. It achieves 50 percent better fuel economy than a comparable petrol-powered vehicle.

In 2010 SAIC started production of its first conventional hybrid vehicle. Built on the platform of SAIC's Roewe 750 mid-sized sedan, this vehicle is 20 percent more fuel efficient than a comparable petrol-powered model, Ling said.

SAIC also has developed a fuel-cell powered car using the platform of the Roewe 750 sedan. However, the company has not indicated a timetable for production.

Ling, who previously worked for Ford Motor in the United States, was hired by SAIC in 2006 to lead its EV division in Shanghai.