Zoomi Life

Designed to showcase Buick’s vision of “business on the road,” this multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) was developed in China and is a hybrid utilizing the GM Hybrid System.  The design of the vehicle is a joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).

The next-generation hybrid system (GMHS) will be introduced in China soon and was first announced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008.  The system is based on the belt-alternator-starter hybrid tech currently in the Buick LaCrosse eco-hybrid already available in China.

This next generation of the GMHS will have li-ion batteries from Hitachi and will be almost three times as powerful in horsepower as the current design.  This will boost expected fuel economies of the vehicles it’s used in by up to 20%.

The GMHS is a sort of quasi-plug-in hybrid system, with many of the capabilities of a PHEV but generally with a more powerful engine and motor drive-train for larger vehicles.  The engine is a 2.4L 4-cylinder Spark-ignited engine and a 6-speed automatic transmission paired with the electric components.

No word on when or even if this new concept hybrid will be released to the market, but it will likely be in China as the GMHS seems to be developed specifically for that market.

Source: Green Car Congress