The latest from the Shanghai auto show

The Chinese auto market has been flooded with electric vehicle start-ups in recent years after Beijing opened the sector to technology and venture capital investment.

China has already overtaken the U.S. to become the world’s biggest electric auto market, thanks to central government policies favouring new energy vehicles – in particular, generous industry subsidies over the past four years.

The electric vehicle concept has been unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show, and industry insiders suggest that it will reach production, retaining its electric drivetrain, by 2020. In 2016, deliveries of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in China jumped 50 percent to 507,000 vehicles and the government expects sales to reach 700,000 to 800,000 vehicles this year.

As a matter of fact, without Buick, General Motors would likely not be in contention with Volkswagen for supremacy in the Chinese market. Foreign companies balked at giving away expensive know-how that might help a potential competitor to develop. Automakers have warned they may be unable to meet those targets and regulators have suggested they might be reduced or postponed.

Volvo’s first electric auto will have a 100 kWh battery and be manufactured at its factory in Luqiao, China. “We have a pipeline that is going to materialize, that’s going to put us in a very good position from a fuel economy requirement perspective”. GM vehicles in China are sold under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Baojun, Wuling, and Jiefang nameplates. During the first quarter of this year, SUV sales ratcheted up 21 percent over the previous year to 2.4 million units sold; at that same time, new energy vehicles sank 4.4 percent while selling just 55,929 units. As part of the plan, the Swedish auto maker will also offer a plug-in hybrid version of every new model it makes.

As for the car’s performance specs, not much is known beyond the fact that the electric battery should offer a range of more than 400 km when fully charged, and will be placed inconspicuously within the car’s floor.

Earlier this year, the automaker and Geely, its Chinese owner, said that the EV would have a 100-kilowatt-hour battery capacity, and later some reports claimed a driving range of at least 250 miles (402 km) on a charge.

The eye-catching concept has a set of sleek headlights reminiscent of those seen on recent Mazda models while the shiny front end treatment makes us think of Mercedes’ “diamond” grille.