Germany is the preferred location,? Henry Li, general manager of BYD?s auto export trade division, said in a telephone interview. The decision depends on BYD ?finding the right property and place? and will likely be made before the end of the year, Li said.

Shenzhen-based BYD plans to start selling electric and hybrid cars in western Europe next year and become the first Chinese company to market alternative energy-powered vehicles in the region. The E6 electric car is among the models BYD plans to introduce, Paul Lin, a company spokesman, said in March. The carmaker may eventually design and build cars in Europe, he said.

BYD signed an agreement with Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler AG, to develop electric vehicles in China last month. Daimler, the world?s second-biggest maker of luxury cars, and BYD will invest 600 million yuan ($88 million) in the equal partnership.

Source : Konaxis

“This is a co-operative venture between the most senior automaker and the youngest … between the country with the best auto industry and the country with the biggest auto market,” BVD’s general manager Henry Li said at the Geneva Auto Show.

Daimler said its electric vehicle knowhow combined with BVD’s expertise in battery technology and e-drive systems will be “a perfect match.”

BVD, China’s second biggest domestic carmaker, unveiled its E6 people carrier for the first time in Europe during the show. It aims to market the car in Europe in 2011.

Source : Konaxis

It made the announcement Wednesday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, reported USA Today.

The e6 is a five-passenger family hauler. BYD says it will have more range and capability than a lot of the other electric vehicles coming to the market because it has a unique battery chemistry. As a result, BYD says the e6 can go from zero to 60 mph in less than 14 seconds, achieve a top speed of 140 miles per hour and that it will have a range of 205 miles.

Chinese automakers have talked about coming to the U.S. for years, but none have successfully made it yet. “It’s one thing to want to sell in the U.S. It’s another to set up a dealer network,” says Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s U.S. marketing arm. New companies also have to arrange the marketing and go through the other costly tasks before they can sell. Launching a new nameplate can cost $100 million, Lentz says.

Source : Konaxis

BYD is also leaning toward choosing the West Coast metropolis as home to its U.S. headquarters for the auto business, Henry Li, a BYD senior director in charge of its auto business outside China, said in an interview Wednesday. Mr. Li said an official decision has not been made, but the Los Angeles area is “at the top of the list”.

The Los Angeles area is attractive because electric cars are “most suitable for densely populated areas with lots of air pollution problems,” and because the region is one of the largest and wealthiest car markets and is known to be the leader in adopting new technologies, the executive said.

BYD has said that it plans to sell the all-electric, battery-powered e6 model for slightly more than $40,000 ? competitive with some bigger rivals. BYD plans initially to make the e6 available only to fleet customers in the U.S., like utilities, and will sell it directly to them instead of using dealerships. BYD plans to develop a dealer network later, as it makes more products available in the U.S.

BYD hopes to enter Europe with a similar strategy in 2011 or later.

The Chinese company’s ambitions face challenges. It is still awaiting approval from China’s government to begin selling the e6 in its home market.

Source : Konaxis

The center in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, which will include an auto parts production base as well, is scheduled to begin operations before 2012. Upon completion, the output value of the center is expected to exceed 1 billion yuan.

The automaker currently has a nationwide quality control and R&D system, including vehicle inspection lines, at its manufacturing bases in Xi’an and Shenzhen; a vehicle crash testing lab in Shanghai and an R&D center at its headquarters in Shenzhen.

BYD announced in late September that a high-speed curved cycling track in Shenzhen, the fifth such proving ground in China, had gone on-stream, making it the first Chinese automaker to have its own circuit.

Currently, BYD produces all the auto parts, except the windshield and tires, for its cars. This is seen as a smart way to shorten the turnover period of sourcing parts and supply, and promises comprehensive quality control of its products and speeds new model launches.

Source : Konaxis