China’s Chery Automobile has introduced the country’s first production-ready hybrid vehicle at Beijing’s International Auto Show. Based on its popular A5 sedan, the hybrid A5 ISG can run solely on an electric motor in low demand situations and utilizes regenerative braking to charge up the car’s batteries. An ACTECO 1.3L four-cylinder gasoline engine is employed during hard acceleration and at higher speeds, and drives the front wheels via a 519 five-speed MT automatic transmission.

Previous reports have suggested that Chery was working closely with UK engineering firm Ricardo on a hybrid drivetrain, but local sources claim that the car was developed completely in-house. Major rival Geely, is also said to be working on its own hybrid vehicle, which the company expects to be rolling off the production line early next year.