High hopes for BYD

CHINESE ELECTRIC car and battery maker BYD hopes to be a top supplier in incentive programs to boost the use of electric cars…

CHINESE ELECTRIC car and battery maker BYD hopes to be a top supplier in incentive programs to boost the use of electric cars in Chinese cities, according to a senior executive at the firm.

“The Chinese government supports 10 cities to each have 1,000 electric vehicles for public transport,” said Henry Li, general manager of BYD Auto’s export trade division. “We already have a quite high demand for electric vehicles.” He added that BYD hoped to supply a big number of e-cars for this programme.

Li said demand for electric cars would first come from governments, taxi businesses and corporate fleets in all markets.

BYD will launch its e6 electric vehicle by the end of 2009 in China, expecting sales of a “few hundred” cars in the first year. In 2010, the e6 will be introduced to the US,

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Li said, adding that BYD hopes to be in Europe before 2011. The company has ambitious plans for its hybrid and rechargeable vehicles, aiming to sell as many as nine million units by 2025 to take on heavyweights like General Motors and Toyota.

In May, BYD and Europe’s largest automaker Volkswagen signed an agreement to explore partnership options.

“Talks with further European and US companies are ongoing,” Li said, adding, “nothing has been finalised.

There were no plans at present to give US investor Warren Buffett a higher stake in the company, Li said, echoing Buffett’s remarks in a recent interview.

– Reuters