Published

BYD Aims to Enter U.S. Market in 2015

Electric-vehicle maker BYD Co. tells Bloomberg News it will roll out an array of electric and hybrid cars in the American market beginning about two years from now.
#hybrid

Share

Electric-vehicle maker BYD Co. tells Bloomberg News it will roll out an array of electric and hybrid cars in the American market beginning about two years from now.

Stella Li, who heads the Chinese company's operations in the U.S., says the lineup will probably be led by the 189,800-yen ($31,400) Qin compact plug-in hybrid sedan that went on sale in Beijing and Puerto Rico last month.

BYD is partly owned by Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. The company itroduced its first EV, the e6 crossover, in China in 2010. The car debuted there a year later than scheduled, and plans to bring it to the U.S. in were repeatedly delayed and finally abandoned.

Li concedes that BYD's early enthusiasm was offset by a lack of capital, brand image or competitive product. Now, she tells Bloomberg, the restructured company intends to compete on quality and innovation rather than low price.

BYD already markets small volumes of electric buses to U.S. fleet operators. It also plans in March to begin local assembly of the coaches in California. Li did not say how the company will distribute and sell the Qin in America.

RELATED CONTENT

  • On Military Trucks, Euro Car Sales, Mazda Drops and More

    Did you know Mack is making military dump trucks from commercial vehicles or that Ford tied with Daimler in Euro vehicle sales or the Mazda6 is soon to be a thing of the past or Alexa can be more readily integrated or about Honda’s new EV strategy? All that and more are found here.

  • On Traffic Jams, Vehicle Size, Building EVs and more

    From building electric vehicles—and training to do so—to considering traffic and its implication on drivers and vehicle size—there are plenty of considerations for people and their utilization of technology in the industry.

  • Startup Readies Solar-Powered EV

    Germany’s Sono Motors GmbH says it has received 5,000 orders for its upcoming Sion electric car, which can be partially recharged by it attached solar panels.

Gardner Business Media - Strategic Business Solutions