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at its Adelaide factory. It also lost a lucrative export program when its troubled parent, General Motors, axed its Pontiac division, which was selling left-hand drive variants of the Holden Commodore as the Pontiac G8 in North America. CHANGCHUN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- As China's automakers accelerate dev▓elopment of hybrid and electric vehi

cles, experts and industry insiders say more▓ attention should be paid to researching energy-saving technologies for conventi▓onal vehicles. The Changchun International Automobile Exhibition from July 15 to 26 in northeast China's Jilin Province is showcasing a range of "new-energy vehicles." Chinese manufacturer Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co., Ltd. displays a hybrid vehicle▓, which starts on electricity and shifts to gasoline. "Oil consumption can b▓e reduced by 17 to 20 percent," said Zhang Chao, vic▓e president of the company. Besides Zhongxing, about a▓ dozen automakers, including BYD, Chery, Lifan, Geely, and institutes are developing new-energy vehicle technologies, but industry insiders say China should not overestimate the new cars as the market and technologies are immature. "The market share of new-energy automobiles will not exceed 10 percent by 2020. Most cars will still rely on gasoline," said Zhang Xiaoyu, ▓president of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) of China. "▓Shifting from conventional energy to new energy will take▓ a very long time in the automobile industry. We should never neglect research into energy-saving technologies for conventionally powered vehicles." Xu Heyi, president of Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., Ltd., said: "We are not sure whether hybrid or pure electric vehicles ▓will become the major direction for the development of new energy vehicles. Also, the key technologies are very complex, which leads to high manufacturing costs. The State Council recently approved an implementation plan to encourage automobile and household▓ appliance "trade-ins" (hereinafter referred to as the Plan). The Plan shows that a ▓maximum subsidy of 6,000 yuan will be granted for ▓"trade-ins" of automobiles that have reached certain service lifetime.Subsidies to▓taling seven billion yuan to be allocated to "trade-▓ins"On May 19, the policy aimed at encouraging automobile and household appliance "trade-ins" was studied and deployed during a Stat▓e Council executive meeting. The Plan for the first time clearly defines various aspects of the▓ policy, including its procedure and the scope and standard of the subsidy.Acc▓ording to an official from the National Development and Reform Commission, the basic idea ▓of the Plan is to encourage "trade-ins" by means of financial subsidies, with a view to expanding consumption demand, promoting energy ▓conservation and

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