BYD goes global
Cooperation between BYD Auto and Mercedes-Benz will improve the safety of Chinese vehicles.
BYD, which is virtually unknown outside of China, has struck a deal with Mercedes-Benz and will collaborate on a joint electric vehicle. The Chinese company is introducing its battery technologies and electronic drive systems, while the Germans will share knowledge and experience in the field of electric vehicles. The tying could also have had the unexpected side effect of making Chinese cars safer.
“This is a collaboration between the oldest automaker and the youngest,” says BYD general manager of international sales Henry Lee. “We know the requirements for safer cars and we will have cars that meet those standards. We really want all of our cars to be crash tested."
Mercedes considers cooperation with BYD a win-win business model. “Daimler’s know-how in electric vehicle architecture and BYD’s excellence in battery technology and e-drive systems are well-matched,” says company chairman Dieter Zetsche.
The two companies will also collaborate at a technical center in China to develop and test an electric vehicle that will be sold under a new joint brand specifically for China.
BYD is making rapid headway in electric vehicles and has shown off its new E6 electric wagon and F3DM electric sedan at the Geneva Motor Show.
The E6 has a range of 330 kilometers on a single charge, using what BYD calls a "Fe lithium-ion phosphate battery" and a 74kW/450Nm electric motor. The car's battery can be charged up to 50% in 30 minutes, and the battery life is 10 years. The car accelerates to 100 km/h in less than 14 seconds and has a top speed of 140 km/h. The E6 will be sold first in the US and then in Europe in 2011 in both front- and all-wheel drive.
Li says the first target is taxis and large corporate parks. “We don't expect to produce a large number of cars, but this is an important car for us,” he says.
BYD aims to be China's best-selling auto company by 2015 and the world's number one by 2025. It already ranks sixth among Chinese brands with sales of 450,000 vehicles in 2009. But Australia is not yet the target. “First and foremost we want to focus on America and Europe and obviously our home market,” says Henry Lee.
