Chery Automobile has unveiled its first self-developed electric vehicle, the S18, and the Chinese automaker has rival BYD squarely in its sights.

Powered by a lithium-ion phosphate battery, the Chery S18 can run up to 93 miles on one charge and has a maximum speed of 75 mph.

Chery said the battery can be fully charged in four to six hours at a household electrical outlet. Specially designed charging devices let owners get the car 80 percent charged in only a half-hour.

A Chery official said the model will be on sale in the market within a year, priced at about $14,600. The first vehicles will be provided to government institutions for trial use.

Chery, which launched a prototype hybrid last month that could save up to 10 percent on fuel consumption, also plans to launch a midlevel hybrid this year.

Chinese carmakers are racing to launch new-energy vehicles; the central government has targeted 60,000 new-energy vehicles on the roads nationwide by 2012. To further that aim, the Chinese government is offering subsidies of up to $36,500 to consumers to encourage them to buy hybrid, electric and fuel-cell vehicles.

Besides Chery, nearly all of China's major automakers have invested heavily in new-energy vehicles. BYD launched the world's first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, the F3DM, in December.