China South Locomotive, Liaoning SG sign electric car deal

China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp, the country’s biggest rail carriage maker, is planning to form a venture with Liaoning Shuguang Automobile Group to make electric vehicles ahead of an expected uptick in demand, Bloomberg reported.  The two firms will invest a minimum of US$65 million to expand existing subsidiaries and form an auto sales unit in what is now the world’s biggest auto market: vehicle sales rose 46% to 13.6 million units in 2009. Daimler and BYD recently announced that they too would joinly develop an electric vehicle for China’s domestic market. Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche believes China can become one of the world’s largest markets for zero-emission automobiles as the government steps up efforts to reduce vehicle emissions and reliance on foreign oil.