BYD, a Chinese company, is better known as a maker of batteries, especially lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones. Now it wants to be as well known for electric cars and its chairman Wang Chuan-Fu said here that it aims to launch a plug-in hybrid model, the F6DM, and the E6 all-electric car, in the US and Europe in 2011.
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In September, BYD became better known after US billionaire Warren Buffett’s decision to buy a 10% stake in the Hong Kong-based company for US$230m.
Now, the company said, it is ready to license its low-cost ferrous-iron electric car battery and has had interest from Japanese, European and US carmakers.
The company raised a few eyebrows at its press conference by claiming its E6 was “the first five-seat all-electric vehicle in the world with a 250-mile range between charges.” A figure of 180 miles seems more likely. The E6 batteries weigh about 600kg, twice the weight of Nissan’s batteries in its prototype electric car.
BYD Auto was set up in 2003 by the BYD Group and said it has 10,000 R&D staff who are also working on solar and hydrogen technology.
The company wants to develop a range of plug-in hybrids to compete with GM and Toyota but admits that it needs to establish its credentials for long-term durability and safety.
It launched its F3DM model in China in December. This has a small petrol engine as a backup power source and costs the equivalent of about GBP14,000 ($US28,000).
