General Motors' division in Shanghai has just given the go-ahead for production of the company's first-ever crossover in China. The report comes from The Beijing Times and chronicles the Envision Concept's roller-coaster ride from its debut appearance at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show earlier this year in April to its scheduled production in 2012. GM Shanghai currently operates several brands in China, such as Wuling, Cadillac and Buick.

This will be the first locally-built crossover model to come out of the American automaker's Far East division. InAutoNews reports that a GM rep recently said "Envision merges Buick's global design language with Chinese aesthetics and was designed specifically for the China market." Certainly a fitting description for a new model looking to make a big splash in the world's most populous country. The Envision will run on a plug-in hybrid system. It makes use of a lightweight carbon fiber, aluminum and magnesium chassis for added efficiency.

The interior of the concept featured a futuristic dashboard along with a large center instrument panel. Details are still unclear as to what features will make their way into the production version of the Envision. The Envision Concept should be priced around 200,000 and 300,000 Chinese yuan, roughly $30K-45K. The hybrid crossover is expected to compete against the Honda CR-V.