Officials of the only Chinese automaker at this year’s North American International Auto Show repeated their goal of introducing an all-electric mid-size sedan in select markets across North America before the end of the year.
“That is our intent,” said Henry Li, head of BYD Motors’ export trade division. “We hope to establish a limited dealer network and be ready to sell vehicles in small markets before the end of 2010.
“We then hope to take that same model and introduce vehicles into Europe,” said Li.
BYD, which includes billionaire Warren Buffett among its investors, has chosen the e6, a mid-size all-electric plug-in sedan to be its test vehicle in North America.
With no other Chinese competition at this year’s show, BYD had a captive audience during this week’s media preview and took full advantage with an unveiling of the E6 complete that included a video history of the company, which was established in 1995, and a full-scale main-floor press conference.
“We are here for the third time and we are looking for overseas opportunities,” said Fred Ni, BYD general manager.
David Cole, of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research, said the smaller number of Chinese participants at the Detroit show may be an indication of their recognition of the difficulties in breaking into the North American marketplace.
“The level of refinement and the bar has been raised so high that it’s very difficult to compete with the established manufacturers in any of the vehicle segments,” said Cole. Not that it can’t be done, but the challengers have to avoid any misstep that could set them back years, he said. In the days when the Korean and Japanese automakers began making inroads into North America the industry’s quality and sophistication weren’t as high.
Chu Maoming, deputy consul general for the People’s Republic of China, said BYD’s involvement in this year’s show is reflective of their interest in the North American market and the fact they’ve exhibited twice before in Detroit.
“Perhaps they feel they are more prepared and ready for this market,” said Chu. “The other automakers who were here before are also very high quality and may be concentrating their efforts on domestic and other markets besides North America.
“All of China’s automakers are opening their eyes to the world around them.”
Despite the stiff competition, BYD general manager Fred Ni said his company is in the process of identifying dealerships willing to take their products but acknowledges the process will be slow and vehicles, such as the plug-in electric e6, will be introduced in selected markets.
The vehicle will have a single-charge range of 330 kilometres, a top speed of 150 km/h, one-third the operating costs of a gasoline-powered engine and the capability to go from zero to 100 km/h in 14 seconds.
“We expect its price to be on a par with similar-sized sedans,” said Ni. “We haven’t established an actual price, but we know we have to be competitive to succeed in this marketplace.”
Last year BYD, now the fourth-largest Chinese automaker, sold 400,000 vehicles in China, an increase of 160 per cent from the previous year.
The company’s goal is to sell 800,000 this year with a long-range goal of being the top global automaker by 2025.
In addition to passenger cars, the company also manufactures electric buses, lithium-ion batteries, solar energy systems, charging stations and mobile phone keypads.
Source: canada.com
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