Extended Range Electric Vehicles to Arrive From China

The fastest growing automotive market in the world is located in China which happens to also be the largest country in the world with more than 1.3 billion residents. The Chinese car industry is young, dominated by foreign brands, but that may soon be changing if a handful of home grown companies have their way.

Leading the charge is BYD Automotive, a company which is actually leading the charge in another way: they are a producer of extended range electric vehicles, cars which have already found their way into the hands of the Chinese consumer. Now, they are taking aim at the US market where the automaker plans on bringing a range of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to the country in 2011.

Taking it one step further, BYD says that they are looking at setting up manufacturing facilities in the US to produce their cars as well. BYD is expected to be the first Chinese car manufacturer to sell vehicles in the US when their cars arrive stateside.

Underpinning the company’s strategic vision of “green tech for tomorrow” is BYD’s own Fe battery. The Fe battery is extremely safe, environmentally friendly and affordable. It can be quick-charged to 50% of capacity in only 10 minutes, and will have a life cycle of more than 10 years.

The Fe battery is used in the e6 electric crossover vehicle, as well as BYD’s new Dual Mode family of plug-in hybrid vehicles, including the compact F3DM sedan and the mid-size F6DM sedan, which can run in either pure-electric or hybrid-electric mode.

At the Detroit conference, Wang was joined by David Sokol, chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, the energy wing of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which last fall acquired a 10% stake in BYD Auto’s parent company, BYD Company Ltd.

Sokol said, “We are working with BYD on developing charging technologies and infrastructure that would help promote plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles. For the electric-vehicle market to mature, the underlying charging infrastructure and technologies must mature at least simultaneously, if not first. Perhaps like no other corporate entity in the world, we are in a position to help make that happen.”

Sokol, who is a member of BYD’s board of directors, also said MidAmerican Energy Holdings is working with BYD on demonstration projects that will allow the partners to store energy from such renewable sources as wind and solar, to be deployed into the grid when needed.

When BYD arrives in the US, most of the major automobile manufacturers represented will be offering a variety of hybrid, plugin hybrid, and all electric vehicles. However, BYD expects that its mid-size five-passenger crossover vehicle with a range of up to 250 miles on a single charge and a price that undercuts the competition will be a strong seller, just the kind of vehicle shoppers might embrace.