American taxi fleets will be allowed to buy electric cars from Chinese automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) despite the brand’s choice not to offer at the consumer level.

The brand will offer a version of its e6 EV that it modified to meet U.S. safety standards while looking almost the same as the version sold in China. For now, the maker will continue building the vehicles in China and shipping them to its North American headquarters in Los Angeles.

A 75 kw electric motor sources power from a battery built into the floor that offers up to 186 miles of city range according to the company. It can also travel up to 87 mph.

BYD hasn’t said what the cars will cost, but will announce more details closer to the on-sale date.

[Source: ChinaEV]

A wicked crash between a Nissan GT-R and a BYD E6 electric taxi in China last Sunday is lighting concern about EV fires anew. 

BYD, one of the country’s best-known EV manufacturers, is hurriedly explaining that it’s unlikely under the circumstances that the car catching fire had anything to do specifically with it being a battery-electric car.

The crash killed the taxi’s three occupants when the GT-R hit it from the rear travelling approximately 180 km/h, (roughly 110 mph). At the time, the taxi was driving a little slower than 40 mph and was sent flying through traffic and into a tree. Upon impact, the car was sliced down the middle, from the rear, beyond the rear passenger seats.

In that car, the battery packs are housed under the rear seats, which meant they were broken apart on impact. Spurring speculation about the vehicle’s safety, the car burst into flames moments after the crash.

That fire inevitably sparked concern in China that EVs aren’t safe, much the same as the controversy that plagued the Chevrolet Volt.

BYD is admitting that the cause behind the fire isn’t totally clear, but maintains that it isn’t necessarily the battery pack that caused the blaze. Given the nature of the accident, it could have been fabric in the car’s interior, or ruptured high-voltage gear according to BYD marketing head Lin Mi.

[Source: New York Times]

BYD will provide 10 new electric buses to Windsor, Canada to become the first North American city to use China-built all-electric large-scale transportation.

Eddie Francis, mayor of Windsor, has sent over an agreement to BYD for the buses, one of which will be used to transport passengers to Detroit meaning they will also be operate in the U.S. BYD hopes this will get its foot in the door for a larger North American presence. The Chinese automaker is also talking with Canadian authorities in hopes to manufacture buses in Ontario.

The K9 electric bus can be fully charged in six hours offering a 186-mile range with a 60-mph top speed. A quick charge can fill up its battery to 50 percent capacity in just 30 minutes and features iron-phosphate batteries that can cleanly recycle its stored energy.

Windsor also has a long-term plan for the buses’ batteries once they’re taken off the road in 12 to 15 years; They hope to convert them into fixed energy storage stations.

“One of our primary goals was to position Windsor among the first cities in North America to pioneer the efficient use of electric buses within its public transit authority and to establish Windsor as a hub for the development, manufacture and commercialization of energy products including electric buses,” said Stella Li, president of BYD Motors.

Out in Shenzhen, China, tourists can rent a BYD E6 electric vehicle from Hertz and it appears that the EV will be making its way to America as part of Hertz’s rental fleet in the U.S.

Jack Hidary, the global EV leader for Hertz, spoke about the Chinese government’s support of electric vehicles while explaining the reason behind the BYD E6′s popularity. Shenzhen governors have deployed charging stations throughout the city and residents purchasing EVs are currently getting a rebate of around $19,000. The E6 isn’t cheap in China however, priced at around $58,000 – but when it makes its way to America it should be cheaper.

Currently, Hertz has 600 rental cars in five Chinese cities but hopes to expand the fleet to 1,500 by the end of this year. Shenzhen as a whole expects to have around 500 E6 taxis on the streets and is currently converting its bus fleet of 1,600 vehicles to BYD plug-in electrics.

It’s expected that the BYD E6 will be certified for sale in the U.S. by the end of this year and will initially be offered to fleet buyers only. The E6 features a 60 kWh battery pack with a 185 mile range. Attached to a DC fast-charging station, it can go from empty to full in just half an hour.

It will be interesting to see if American consumers embrace the E6, even if it’s just a rental car to begin with.

[Source: The NY Times]

It’s been two years since Daimler and BYD of China announced a partnership to develop electric vehicles for the Chinese market, but the collaboration finally has a name: Denza.

The two have not decided on what the logo will look like, but it appears that there are three possibilities being considered. None of the logos being proposed resemble the badges from Mercedes-Benz or BYD. It’s believed that the first Denza-badged vehicle will be built on the previous-generation Mercedes B-Class platform.

While Mercedes is in charge of the chassis, BYD will be in handle developing the electric powertrain. As For now, Denzas will only be sold to the Chinese market. Further details are scarce but we’ll probably hear more about the first Denza model when the Beijing Motor Show kicks off.

GALLERY: Denza Proposed Logos

[Source: Sohu via Leftlane News]

Last year, Germany’s Daimler AG and the Chinese BYD Auto have formed a 50-50 joint R&D venture called “Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd.” to pursue a new brand that will focus on the development of pure electric vehicles for China.

Now, the two automakers have revealed intentions to introduce a new electric vehicle concept for the upcoming Beijing Auto Show of April next year. The Mercedes-Benz parent company said that the unveiling will demonstrate the concept’s exterior and interior design study, and the brand’s identity, including name, logo, and positioning in the China automotive market.

The Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd. expects to have a prototype up and running for shakedown and testing by the springtime of 2012, and to have it ready for production by 2013.

[Source: CarScoop]

There’s a new kid in Los Angeles, BYD. The Chinese battery and electric car manufacturer opened its California office today.

BYD says it will bring 150 green-collar engineering and management jobs to the city. The event highlight, however, is a deal between BYD and Hertz to provide airport shuttles to the rental agency. This could prove to be a key time for the company to move into the California electric car market.

Their opening is hot on the heels of the California government deciding to limit HOV lane benefits to electric cars in an effort to encourage greener transportation. BYD has a chance to get a jump on the electric car market considering the only EV’s available to consumers are the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Roadster.

Things may not all be bright though, BYD saw their profits drop by just over a third between 2009 and 2010 and lackluster sales in the first half of this year aren’t boding well either.

Their financial woes are largely due to poor car sales in China, where they failed to meet even half of their projected numbers.

Their push into the North American market could prove to be a good source of revenue, but BYD Vice-President Michael Austin admitted earlier this year to the Glendale News-Press that “the paradigm of driving a Chinese car in the U.S. is going to be hard to break.”

[Source: Auto Observer]

It’s not clear if Chinese automaker BYD is more famous because of its billionaire investor Warren Buffet, or because of its continued failed promises to sell cars in North America. Soon, however, you might recognize the brand as your emissions free transportation to and from the office. That’s because BYD is preparing to launch its new eBUS-12, the world’s first fully electric full size bus.

Measuring 12 meters (40 feet) in length, the potentially revolutionary bus will have a range of 250 km in urban driving and will debut at Busworld (sounds exciting, we know), in Kortrijk, Belgium on Friday, October 21st.

BYD will also then announce plans for a European launch strategy with tests of the new bus in several major European capitals. Like with its cars, there’s no word of BYD selling buses in North America.

Warren Buffett and Chinese carmaker BYD have raised 1.4 billion yuan, or $219 million, in their initial public offering in Shenzhen.

While seemingly impressive, the figure was below expectations. Investors were worried over how well the company would perform, and lacked confidence for the company. BYD had hoped to raise 2.19 billion yuan, or another $34 million.

Shares of BYD were priced at 18 yuan, while its Hong Kong shares were priced at $21.50 each. It did sell 79 million shares in its initial outing, however, amidst declining sales: 9% since May.

BYD originated as a battery producer but is now China’s 4th largest automaker, and has been developing its electric car for both mainland and global consumption. Warren Buffett has held a stake in the company since September 2008, and is still happy with the investment.

[Source: Reuters]

BYD, China’s 4th largest automaker, has finally established a location in Southern California, although the digs are modest to say the least. BYD’s new home in America is an office within a used car dealership in Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb.

According to reports, the dealership is being used to train BYD technicians, and BYD will roll out 10 of its own sales outlets starting in late 2011.

BYD has leased a fleet of 10 electric vehicles to a local municipal government agency, and its electric car, the E-6, will be on sale later in the year with a range of 200 miles and a starting price of $32,000. But BYD Vice-President Michael Austin admits that their entry into the U.S. market will be challenging. “The paradigm of driving a Chinese car in the U.S. is going to be hard to break,”he said to the Glendale News-Press.

[Source: Glendale News-Press]

Of all the Chinese automakers, BYD (or Build Your Dreams) has been pegged for several years now as the one to bet on. A battery company turned car manufacturer, BYD was the first from China to display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, holding a press conference and making claims that have yet to come to fruition.

But more important than all this was a major investment by the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett himself. It wasn’t so much the money, pouring $232 million into BYD, as it was the psychological factor with Buffett known for making the right decisions when it comes to money.

If continued delays and broken promises might not be enough to see Buffett back out, new WikiLeaks cables obtained by Reuters might. In the cables Guangzhou Consul-General Brian Goldbeck comments on the possible intellectual property rights infringements carried out by BYD. “While BYD has certainly achieved a measure of success based on a business approach of copying and then modifying car designs just enough to convince Chinese courts that the company has not infringed on patents, it is far less certain that foreign courts will be as sympathetic.”

A report by U.S. government officials on the company was even titled, “BYD seeks to ‘Build Your Dreams’ — based on Someone Else’s Designs.”

Other questionable business practices include partnering with foreign automakers only to steal their part designs, ordering initial shipments of parts only to then cancel, while reverse-engineering and then mass-producing them for wider use in BYD’s own vehicles. And to make matters worse, the new parts are often of shoddy, or even unsafe, quality.

Other leaked cables include info that BYD lied about a five-star safety rating for its F0 car – itself a mirror of the Toyota Aygo.

And in what could be seen as an admission of its copycat designs, other info points to BYD dealers actually selling cars with the logos of other automakers – telling unaware consumers that the car is in fact the real thing.

But perhaps the biggest reason for Buffet to back out lies with BYD’s battery technology which reportedly fails to live up to expectations. One cable quotes an embassy official who, after a visit to BYD headquarters, reported that only 100 F3DM electric vehicles had been sold due mostly to the battery life and performance that, “falls considerably short of expectations.”

In previous reports a Berkshire Hathaway exec told Reuters that the reason for the investment was entirely about BYD’s battery technology and not the ability to build a car.

[Source: Reuters]

BYD, the Chinese automaker backed by American investment magnate Warren Buffet, has delayed plans to bring their B6 electric car to America to better engineer the car for American tastes.

The Wall Street Journal, having spoken to a BYD representative, claims that, “the holdup was caused by BYD’s efforts to make the car roomier, especially its rear-seat area that was cramped thanks to a beefy battery pack that needs to be stored under the seat.”

BYD expects the first 50 B6′s, destined for fleets, to arrive sometime in 2011, with private sales beginning in 2012. With the notoriously unreliable schedule of Chinese automakers, don’t be surprised if we see further delays with the introduction of Chinese-made EVs in the United States.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]