General Motors will invest in developing environmentally friendly cars for the Chinese market, the Wall Street Journal reported. The US automaker's plans include creating a research center in its new US$250 million corporate campus in Shanghai. The center will research gasoline-hybrid and electric cars, alternative fuels, engines and new technologies. It plans to introduce a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle in the local market next year. GM will also spend US$5 million to create the China Automotive Energy Resource Center, a partnership with Tsinghua University and local carmaker SAIC.