BYD Auto F3DM EV: China's Volt Makes it to Detroit, will be Launched in the States by 2011

Along with the E6 fully-electric crossover, China's BYD Auto (which stands for Build Your Dreams) also showcased the F3DM plug-in hybrid sedan at its Detroit Show stand. This is not the first time we've seen the F3DM in the U.S. as the Chinese automaker displayed the car at last year's NAIAS.

Looking a lot like a previous generation Toyota Corolla, the 4,533mm (178.4 inches) long FD3M makes use of a small 1.0-liter gasoline engine and an electric motor for a combined output of 168hp (125kw).

Even though some sites have reported now and in the past that the F3DM's hybrid drivetrain works in the same that the Chevy Volt's does, meaning that the gasoline engine doesn't drive the wheels but charges the battery, BYD Auto's press release clearly points towards a system similar to the one found in the Prius.

"When the vehicle needs more power to accelerate, a gasoline engine and an electric motor drive the wheels together to provide greater output and torque," BYD Auto states in the F3DM's press release.

BYD claims that the plug-in hybrid sedan can drive up to 100km or 62 miles on electricity and 580km or 360 miles on a single battery charge and a full tank of gasoline.

The Chinese maker says that the F3DM's battery pack can be charged to 50% power via quick charge in 10 minutes, and 100% power via household charge in seven hours.

The vehicle also features a solar panel sunroof, which can be used to channel power to the battery pack.

According to BYD, the F3DM can sprint from standstill to 100km/h (62mph) in 10.5 seconds and go on to reach a top speed of 150 km/h or 93mph.

The plug-in hybrid sedan recently went on sale in China for the U.S. equivalent of around $22,000. The company said that it plans to sell the F3DM in the States by 2011.

Ford Confirms Deal with China's Geely on Volvo Sale

While General Motors is still trying to figure out what it's going to do with its Saab division, Ford Motor Company announced today that it has settled all substantive commercial terms with China's Geely Holding Group Company Limited on the prospected sale of its Volvo unit.

Ford added that while some work still needs to be done before the deal is sealed such as final documentation, financing and government approvals, the company anticipates that a definitive sale agreement will be signed in the first quarter of 2010, with closing of the sale likely to occur in the second quarter of the same year.

"The prospective sale would ensure Volvo has the resources, including the capital investment, necessary to further strengthen the business and build its global franchise, while enabling Ford to continue to focus on and implement its core ONE Ford strategy," Ford said in a statement,

The Detroit automaker added that it would continue to cooperate with Volvo Cars in several areas after the sale, but it does not plan to retain any shares in the business.

It is said that Geely is offering the U.S. automaker somewhere around $2 billion dollars for Volvo Cars which is less than a third of what Ford paid for the Swedish brand a decade ago.

With the prospected sale of Volvo, Ford will offload the last brand in the Premier Automotive Group that also included Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin.

British Group to Import China's Great Wall Motor Cars Into Europe from 2010

The Chinese maker of original masterpieces such as the Fiat Panda Haval M1, GWPeri, Toyota-Scion Florid and Coolbear, Great Wall Motors, has struck a deal with I.M. Group, a UK-based automotive importer and distributor for Subaru, Isuzu and Daihatsu, to import its vehicles into Europe starting from next year. The British company said that it will initially target the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and from 2011, the Scandinavian region, the UK and Ireland.

"Great Wall Motor Company, one of the few privately-owned Chinese car companies, has copied designed and built all of the European-bound models specifically to meet EU whole-vehicle type approval standards," I.M. Group said in a prepared statement for the press.

"This will ensure that Great Wall models deliver high standards of crash-worthiness, equal to those of modern European and Japanese vehicles."

The UK-based importer said that it will release further details about the launch of the Great Wall brand next year.

The Chinese automaker became known to the Western public a few years ago when it introduced a series of cars that shamelessly copied European and Japanese products including the Fiat Panda and Toyota - Scion cars.

Last year, the Fiat Group sued Great Wall Motors in Europe and China to prevent the company from selling the GWPeri claiming that the mini closely resembled it's Panda model. While the Fiat Group won the legal battle in Europe thus keeping the GWPeri out of the EU, a Chinese court in Hong Kong dismissed Fiat's claims for infringement.

You can get a taste of the numerous production and concept vehicles from Great Wall Motors in our gallery below.