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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China announces Chevy Volt Killer |
| 2008-12-15 |
| BYD, partially-owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, beat Japanese and U.S. automakers to release the first plug-in hybrid car in China. If it fulfills its promises, the cheaper car may have a good chance against Toyota Motor's Prius in the urban Chinese market. BYD's F3DM model operates in either full electric or gas-electric modes, and contains an electric battery that can be charged at a regular plug or at a recharging station. It can travel up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) solely on battery power, and contains a back-up gas engine, BYD said on Monday. Drivers alternate between the two power modes by flipping a switch: the electric mode is optimal for city driving, as gas engines are more wasteful under constant acceleration and deceleration, and the gas-electric mode is more appropriate for travel on highways and outside of cities. The battery takes up to seven hours to charge with a regular plug, and up to 15 minutes to be 80.0% charged at a special recharging station. The F3DM will have to overcome a cost barrier to do well among China's middle class. Its price tag is 149,800 yuan ($22,000), much higher than BYD's $14,000 regular gas-powered F3 model, though lower than the Prius' 259,800 yuan ($37,938) cost. But the car may get a government subsidy, given Beijing's emissions-curbing program. The Prius is designed "intelligently" because it automatically charges when energy discarded by the gas-powered engine during deceleration gets transferred to the electric battery. In the F3DM, the gas and electric engines are isolated from each other, so the battery has to be separately charged manually--but the F3DM may run on electricity more often than the Prius, according to the analyst. BYD said it aims to sell 10,000 F3DM's in 2009, and launch the model in U.S. and European markets in 2011. Various state-run companies, such as China Construction Bank, and local governments, such as Shenzhen, reportedly have already placed orders. One of the world's biggest producer of rechargeable batters for cell phones and laptops by sales, BYD moved into the auto market five years ago. In September, Buffett-controlled MidAmerican Energy Holdings bought a 9.9% stake in BYD for $230.0 million. This is the real cost of moving manufacturing off shore. These guys are two years ahead of GM because they build cell phones every day. That's why their market cap is the same as GM's. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #3 BYD isn't strictly speaking one of China's "regular" auto companies. It's a cellphone company whose owner bought an auto factory to help realize his electric car concepts. Seen an american-built cellphone lately? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2008-12-15 16:32 |
| #2 Have you ever seen crash-test videos of Chinese cars? As craptacular as GM stuff can be, it can at least take a pounding better than that. |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-12-15 15:35 |
| #1 I have yet to see the first Chinese car in the U.S. When I start seeing these things in numbers on the streets in China, I'll consider it a viable option. When I see them in the U.S. I'll consider it a "Chevy Volt Killer." The title of this article is B.S. |
| Posted by: Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-12-15 15:19 |