Skyworth founder's car venture launches hybrid SUV

Skywell, a car company established by Huang Hongsheng, launched a hybrid SUV under its Skyworth marque on Monday.

Huang is better known as the founder of Skyworth Group, one of China's leading home appliance producers.

The SUV, called Skyworth HT-i, is available in seven variants, featuring a hybrid system co-developed by Skywell and BYD's FinDreams.

The system is composed of a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine and permanent-magnet synchronous motor.

The SUV can run for 205 km on pure electric mode and its total mileage can reach 1,267 km.

Wu Longba, president of the carmaker, said it will focus on electric and hybrid vehicles, with 14 models to hit the market in five years.

The carmaker expects its total deliveries to hit 100,000 units in 2023.

Besides the newly launched hybrid model, it already has an electric SUV in the market.

China has been the world's largest market for new energy vehicles since 2015, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The NEV sales in the first seven months stood at 3.19 million units, up 120 percent year-on-year, said the association.

The association estimated that NEV sales this year will reach 5.5 million units this year.

The China Passenger Car Association is more ambitious, expecting total NEV sales to reach 6.5 million this year in the country.