Warren Buffett, one of President Obama’s boys, just bought 10% of BYD, China’s # 2 automaker. BYD stands for “Build Your Dreams.” BYD’s e6, a purely electric car, is going to try the US market quite soon. Mr. Buffett is having 50 of them sent over in May.
Source: americajr.com
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Chinese battery giant BYD is to unveil the world’s first production plug-in hybrid at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit later today, amid promises that the vehicle will be available in Europe and the US within three years. Last month, BYD began selling a plug-in electric hybrid car in China, at least a year ahead of similar efforts in the U.S. and Japan. The car, called the F3DM, plugs into a home outlet and comes with a small gasoline engine that can recharge the battery on the go. It is the first of an array of electrified cars BYD plans to introduce around the world, starting in China and then in the U.S. and Europe as early as 2010. [...] BYD Co., the Chinese automaker backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, will display its plug-in hybrid vehicle in a booth next to General Motors Corp. at next week’s Detroit auto show. BYD will also launch two more electric cars this year, including the F6DM sedan and the E6, an all-electric van. It launched its first plug-in hybrid F3DM in December last year. Everyone agrees the world needs greener cars and Wang Chuanfu believes he is the man to deliver them – by combining Chinese brains and hard work with Warren Buffett’s money. In an interview with Automotive News China, the president of BYD (Build Your Dreams), Wang Chuanfu, said that in addition to the recent Chinese release of the F3DM — the world’s first plug-in hybrid production car — he expects his company to release two more electric car models in 2009. The F3 DM, which can be recharged from a household powerpoint, can run for 100 kilometers (62 miles), only using its batteries, Shenzhen-based BYD said in a statement. BYD, a company that first made its reputation as the world’s largest maker of cell phone batteries, has announced it will release the F3DM hybrid sedan on December 15. SHANGHAI – China’s BYD Co has signed up 10 distributors for its plug-in hybrid car in Europe ahead of its targeted entry into that market in 2010, a senior company executive said on Tuesday. In a high-level CEO forum during the fair in Shenzhen city, southern China, Mr. Wang Chuanfu said the battery-powered all-electric car to come next year can run 400 km at one charge. In an interview, BYD Co. Chairman Wang Chuanfu said the car, known as the F3DM, will be on sale in China by the end of November, pending government approval. Mr. Wang declined to provide a sales target or price range for the new electric car but said in Beijing earlier this year that the vehicle could carry a price tag of about 150,000 yuan ($22,000) and is capable of going as far as 110 kilometers on electricity when fully charged. [...] BYD plans to start selling its first all-electric car in China next year and to start selling gasoline-electric hybrids in the U.S. and Europe by 2010. HONG KONG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRKA) (NYSE:BRKB) subsidiary, today announced it has agreed to purchase 225 million shares, representing approximately a 10 percent interest, in BYD Company Limited (1211.hk). The investment is valued at 1.8 billion HK dollars, or approximately 230 million U.S. dollars. BYD’s corporate focus is researching, developing, manufacturing and selling rechargeable batteries (Li-ion, Nickel batteries), automobiles, electric automobiles and related products [...] BYD’s electric cars are expected in Israel and Europe by 2010. Political and business heavyweights are rolling out the green carpet in hopes of convincing a Chinese electric car manufacturer to set up shop in the Portland area. The Corolla-size F3DM will go on sale later this year, priced from around $14,500, according to the Chinese Web site sina.com. With this car, BYD expects to undercut the price of the Toyota Prius by thousands of dollars. The F3DM, or Dual Mode, is a plug-in hybrid with a proprietary lithium-ion battery pack that can run on either gasoline or pure electric power. [...] |
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