Hafei Motor aims to crush its competition by equipping its compact multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) with mild hybrid technology. That sounds good, but who’s Hafei Motor? Hafei Motor Company is a subsidiary of Harbin HF Automobile Industry Group. In 2009, Hafei Motors was purchased by Chang’an Automobile Group and many of Hafei’s vehicles are designed by Pininfarina. Hafei has production facilities in northern China and it’s extremely rare to come across a Hafei vehicle outside of its home nation.
With that out of the way, let’s get back to the mild hybrid tech. Hafei says that mild hybrid technology is relatively simple and cost effective. The Chinese automaker claims that the resulting boost in fuel economy will be a strong selling point in China and says that until its competitors catch up, it will likely be the nation’s leading manufacturer of hybrid vehicles. Isn’t it odd that a little-known automaker can make such a claim?
[Source: China Car Times | Image: Viva Chile – C.C. License 2.0]
