byd

BYD, a Chinese car and battery maker backed by investor Warren Buffett, expects to enter the mass U.S. auto market in the first quarter of 2012, starting with its e6 all-electric car model, its chairman said yesterday.

"The United States offers a huge opportunity for new-energy vehicles, especially pure electric," Chairman Wang Chuanfu told Reuters in an interview at the Detroit auto show.

"Many auto companies will pay attention to this market, and BYD will take this opportunity as well," he said through a translator, adding he wants BYD to lead in the field of … Read more

Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) will debut two new SUVs and an electric bus at the 2011 North American International Auto Show next month. The world premiere of these vehicles is part of the manufacturer's "Three Green Dreams" lineup--which includes not only vehicles but other green technologies as well--and adds to the F3DM plug-in hybrid sedan that's currently being tested by the Los Angeles Housing Authority.

The 2012 E6 Premier is an all-electric crossover with a top speed of 87 mph and a range of 186 miles. The five-seater can be fully recharged in 6 … Read more

China's BYD rolled out the welcome mat for billionaire investor and backer Warren Buffett, flying him to its south China base today for a series of events to showcase its clean car initiatives.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has profited handsomely from a 10 percent stake it owns in battery and electric car maker BYD, which has jumped nearly seven times in value since Buffett purchased the stake for $230 million in 2008.

BYD invited Buffett to Shenzhen for a signing ceremony that will see the company build an energy storage power station with China Southern Power Grid, the official … Read more

BYD, a China-based electric car manufacturer, is expanding into the U.S. energy market and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to provide storage for its renewable energy sources.

Under the agreement, the Warren Buffet-backed company will develop a 5- to 10-megawatt power storage unit for the LADWP that will be housed at the utility's wind power facility in the Tehachapi mountains. The storage unit will help LADWP expand its delivery of renewable energy, and will help it comply with a recently passed California state bill that requires electric … Read more

Daimler announced Thursday it's partnering with leading Chinese battery manufacturer BYD to produce electric cars under a new brand name.

The two companies have formed a 50-50 joint venture called Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. and plan to invest a total of 600 million yuan (over $80 million) to develop an electric car directed at the Chinese market.

Daimler said in a statement they plan to share technology to capitalize on Daimler's automotive vehicle architecture expertise alongside BYD's know-how with regard to batteries and electric drive trains. Daimler, as it's well-known, already makes the all-electric … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Chinese battery manufacturer BYD, which is readying a line of all-electric vehicles, plans to introduce a home energy suite that includes solar panels and batteries.

BYD, which gained prominence in the U.S. when Warren Buffet invested in the company, plans to start testing its all-electric e6 sedan in the U.S. later this year, said Michael Austin, vice president of BYD America.

High-volume auto battery manufacturing helps the company's entry into home energy products by bringing costs down, he said here on Monday at the Lux Executive Summit during a panel on energy storage. BYD plans to supply solar panels, battery packs, car charging pedestals, efficient LED lighting, and inverters to manage energy flow within a home, Austin said.

"The vehicle market is driving scale for the energy market and we're already well below $500 per kilowatt-hour (for batteries)," he said. BYD electric cars will have a range of about 250 miles, he added.

Two weeks ago, BYD announced a partnership with KB Homes to build a low-energy home in Lancaster, Calif., which is equipped with solar panels and batteries and costs about the same as comparable new homes, according to Austin. BYD America plans to offer similar systems elsewhere in the world. In the U.S. it will target communities where homeowners can finance energy-efficiency investments through property taxes over 20 years.

So far, many of these property assessed clean energy financing (PACE) programs have run out of money, but Austin said BYD expects it can work when backed by commercial banks. The company plans to introduce its home energy line in China this year, he added.

The 15-year-old company started out making batteries and other components for consumer electronics, such as cell phones. Now, as many companies push into electric vehicles, BYD advertises battery prices significantly lower than other companies, which it expects will drive adoption of all-electric cars. … Read more

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Chinese auto company BYD plans to bring an all-electric sedan in small numbers to the U.S. next year.

The company chairman Wang Chuanfu told the Wall Street Journal that the company, which is part-owned by investor Warren Buffet, is now gearing up for a U.S. push. It plans to raise money by offering shares in the company in China to help finance the expansion.

BYD plans to offer a few hundred of one of its most advanced cars in the U.S., the five-seat e6, which takes seven to nine hours to fully charge and has a 250-mile … Read more

Volkswagen may be late to the gate with hybrids and electric cars, but its recent partnership with Chinese automaker and lithium ion battery producer BYD shows that the German car company is a serious contender in the race to supply the masses with an electric car.

Volkswagen has already signed letters of intent with Sanyo and Toshiba as suppliers for electric batteries, and the company is currently exploring an arrangement with BYD to supply VW with lithium ion batteries for its upcoming plug-in and all electric vehicles, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

BYD is one of the largest manufacturers of lithium ion batteries. High demand and cost has made these batteries one of the road blocks to building affordable plug-in and electric vehicles.

However, the battery-maker-turned-car-manufacturer has been able to make stable and durable lithium ion batteries at half the cost of batteries produced in the west and Japan due to its safer, most cost-effective iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion technology. … Read more