It is a marriage intended to spawn a global electric car brand of the future; automotive giant Daimler AG is teaming up with rechargeable battery specialists BYD to produce electric vehicles for Chinese car market.
China-based BYD supplies over half the world’s rechargeable mobile phone batteries and already has an electric vehicle division, which recently launched the world’s first massed-produced, plug-in hybrid car.
Billionaire entrepreneur Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway recently took a $230 million, 10 per cent stake in BYD as part of a move into green technologies.
Daimler AG is not only the biggest lorry manufacturer in the world, but owns household names such as Mercedes and Smart.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “China is already the world’s largest car market and with its commitment to cleaner transport represents a lucrative future market for electric cars – this new partnership is well placed to be a powerful global electric vehicle brand of the near future.”
Over 13.6 million new cars were sold in China in 2009, an increase of 46 per cent from the previous year.
BYD (Buy Your Dream)
The BYD is best known as a producer of batteries, but its F6 car is the world’s first massed-produced, plug-in vehicle. It is able to run on a conventional petrol engine or for 62 miles on battery power alone. The batteries can be topped up via a household electrical supply.
The firm says the F6 model is due to be launched throughout America and Europe in 2011.
The car is on sale for 150,000 yuan (£14,000) and has beaten a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius to market.
China investment in electric cars
As part of its planned £20bn spend on alternative-fuel vehicles before 2012, the Chinese government is offering cash rebates to buyers of electric cars and buses in thirteen of its largest cities.
The rebates will operate on a sliding scale and will be worth from the equivalent of £5,000 for a small electric city car up to more than £60,000 for a fuel cell bus.
China plans to spend the equivalent of almost £20bn over the next three years in order to develop and promote vehicles powered by alternative fuels – mainly those used for public transport. The government recently announced that 60,000 alternative-fuel vehicles will be tested in 11 cities and is considering reforms to fuel taxation and pricing in order to stimulate sales of fuel-efficient vehicles.
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