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  • First Denza electric vehicle surfaces at Auto China 2012

    In BYD, Cars, China, Concept Cars, International News / By / / 13 comments

    Hot on the trail of electric vehicle brands like Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors is newcomer Denza, the result of a 50:50 joint venture between China’s BYD and Mercedes’ parent company Daimler. You see here the first product of their alliance – a cool blue fellow that appears to not have a name.

    Underpinning it is the first-gen Mercedes B-Class platform – a flat floor platform originally designed to house batteries. Daimler take care of the styling, body and chassis while BYD focus on the electric powertrain (BYD used to supply lithium-ion batteries to mobile phone companies, and its E6 model is currently undergoing testing as taxis in Shenzhen).

    The NEV’s powertrain is borrowed from the E6, which means its shares the same advanced lithium-ion phosphate battery that allows a 300 km range. Other numbers are unclear, but the E6 taxis in Shenzhen are reported to charge fully in 20 to 30 minutes without deterioration of battery health, and max out at 140 km/h.

    Denza’s target market is the increasingly urban and open-minded Chinese middle-class. The company aims to be a premium brand of alternative-energy vehicles.

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  • BYD-Daimler set to roll out electric concept at Beijing show

    In BYD, Cars, China, International News, Mercedes Benz / By / / 3 comments

    Last year, Daimler and China’s BYD started a 50:50 research and technology joint venture called “Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co Ltd” (BDNT) that will develop an electric vehicle in and for China. BDNT is now ready with its first concept, which will be shown at next year’s Beijing show in April.

    The Beijing show will see BDNT showcase its green vision, the new brand’s identity, including brand name, logo and positioning as well as the Concept Car’s exterior and interior design. The production fully electric vehicle is scheduled to be launched a year later in 2013.

    In fact, work on the production model has started. The Shenzhen-based JV is said to be making good progress, and work on building the first prototypes has started with the target to have them running by spring next year. The JV will use BYD’s battery tech and e-drive systems plus Daimler’s know-how in EV architecture and safety. BDNT says that Daimler’s quality philosophy has been incorporated from a very early stage.

    Production of the new generation of compact to mid-size electric vehicles will be done with Daimler’s quality management experts and will “to a large extent” follow Daimler’s standardised production system for passenger cars. Supplier sourcing for the new vehicle is nearly completed.

     

  • BYD begins selling its e6 EV to individuals in China

    In BYD, Cars, China, International News / By / / 11 comments

    Chinese automaker BYD, which is looking to lead the market for alternative-energy vehicles in the country, has begun selling its e6 electric vehicle to individuals in China, according to reports.

    The five-seater crossover, with a claimed operating range of 300 km, is powered by a 75 kW motor and BYD’s proprietary iron-phospate FE battery, which can be fully charged in 40 minutes through a 100 kW fast-charging cabinet and six hours via a standard 10 kW charging pole. The car has a sticker price of 369,800 Yuan (RM178,700).

    Buyers in BYD’s hometown of Shenzhen will however qualify for as much as 120,000 Yuan in subsidies – in 2010, China introduced sales subsidies of up to 60,000 Yuan for each electric car purchased in Shenzhen and four other cities, and e6 buyers in Shenzhen will get an additional local subsidy worth 60,000 yuan. The city has also set up more than 60 EV charging stations.

    The reports add that the Chinese government aims to have a million EVs and plug-ins on roads by 2015, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology. As of July this year, around 10,000 EVs and plug-ins were running in 25 trial cities, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

     

  • BYD sales decline by 20%, sales boss resigns as a result

    In BYD, Cars, China / By / / 12 comments

    Not every sales stories from China is a rosy one. Private Chinese automaker BYD, which is partly owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is seeing sales slump. After it almost doubled in 2009, BYD sales rose by just 17% in 2010, way behind the 32% industry average. For the first half of 2011, sales have dropped 20% year-on-year to 242,419 units, according to JD Power.

    In the midst of this, sales Vice President Xia Zhibing has resigned. Xia’s departure is officially listed as for “personal reasons” in the company statement, but industry observers and analysts believe the real cause behind his resignation is the company’s sharp sales decline this year. Xia, 37, has been the sales chief since 2005.

    Analysts point out that the government’s scrapping of tax incentives for small cars has resulted in a drop in demand for models from mass-market brands this year. However, BYD sales are falling faster than the industry at large. Also blamed is BYD’s aggressive dealership network expansion over the past two years. It backfired in 2010 when more than 20% of its dealerships closed, according to local media.

    Or could it be BYD’s model lineup itself? The company has plenty of models that are “inspired” by other marques – Estima, Honda City, Merc SL, Megane CC, Altis, Optra 5, you name it. Could it be that the average Chinese is no longer digging “imitation” products when it comes to cars?

     

  • BYD to send e6 electric cars to Municipality of Rotterdam

    In BYD, Cars, China / By / / 2 comments

    China’s electric cars are going places. The nation’s EV pioneer BYD has signed a deal with Rotterdam city in the Netherlands to deliver a fleet of e6 electric cars to the city that’s home to the largest port in Europe.

    The Municipality of Rotterdam has intentions to purchase a range of electric cars for its test fleet of 75 vehicles, and the e6 will be part of this fleet, although the privately owned Chinese automaker (as opposed to state owned) did not reveal how many units it will deliver. Last year, BYD delivered a fleet of 50 e6 cars to a taxi company in its home city of Shenzhen.

    The e6 is a five-seat crossover/MPV style vehicle with a claimed range of over 300 km. In its most powerful form, the e6 has a 215 hp front motor plus a 54 hp rear motor. Powered by BYD’s own Fe battery, the e6 does 0-100 km/h in 10 seconds and has a top speed of 140 km/h. Read more about it here.

     

  • BYD to unveil Premier e6 variant and S6DM SUV in Detroit

    In BYD, Cars, China, International News / By / / 23 comments

    As part of the going green strategy it will be presenting at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month, BYD Auto will be giving the Premier version of its e6 five-seat crossover and S6DM dual-mode electric SUV their world debuts at the show.

    The S6DM SUV is what BYD calls the world’s first independent 4WD dual-mode electric SUV. It can do over 60 km purely on electric power and over 500 km in extended range with its 2.0 litre petrol block helping things along. Drivetrain features include a 10 kW electric motor tagged M1 working the front wheels, while a 75 kW unit (M2) powers the rear wheels, and there’s a six-speed dual-clutch transmission in the mix.

    Meanwhile, the Premier variant of the e6 will feature a more dynamic and sporty exterior design (the bog standard e6 is the one in the pix), among other things. Equipped with a BYD Iron-phosphate “FE” battery, it takes only 40 minutes to fully charge the e6 on the 100 kW fast charging cabinet or six hours via the 10kW standard charging pole; specs include a 300 km range on urban roads and a top speed of 140 kph.

     

  • Berjaya Corp granted local assembly manufacturing licence

    In BYD, Cars, Local News, Malaysia Budget 2011 / By / / 63 comments

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    Well, another player has joined the list of local assemblers. Berjaya Corporation has been granted a manufacturing licence to build vehicles in the country by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and with that is set to assemble commercial vehicles, hybrid cars, electric cars and luxury passenger vehicles at a 100-acre plant in Bukit Tagar, Selangor.

    Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Berjaya Corp’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement that the license would allow Berjaya more flexibility and control in terms of quality and pricing of its vehicles. The group currently holds the distribution and marketing rights to a number of brands locally, including Mazda, Chana Era, Skoda and Jinbei.

    “Besides strategically complementing and widening our existing range of motor brands, this will also be a good opportunity for Berjaya Corp to promote green technology through the development of hybrid and electric vehicles which are more environmentally friendly. In line with this, we hope to expand our market share and develop a more global presence,” he said.

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    The direction towards hybrid (and EV) assembly looks timely for Berjaya, given the recent full excise duty exemptions on hybrid cars below 2.0 litres until Dec 31 next year. The exemption under the budget, along with the manufacturing licence approved by MITI, effectively means that Berjaya Corp will be able to circumvent the revised National Automotive Policy’s clause of only issuing manufacturing licences for vehicles above a 1.8 litre engine displacement and RM150,000 pricing, which had earlier played havoc on its plans for local assembly.

    Earlier in the year, Berjaya Corp had signed a MOU with Chinese automaker BYD Auto to locally assemble the latter’s 1.0 litre F0 four-door hatch, but the NAP directive kept that from developing. Now, with the manufacturing licence approval, the project should in all probability get underway, and the assumption is that BYD models such as e6 and F3DM should figure in plans at some point in the future.

     

  • BYD set up European HQ in Germany, sales start next year

    In BYD, Cars, China, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News / By / / 19 comments

    Chinese battery and automaker BYD will set up its European headquarters in Germany, saying that the decision now depends on “finding the right property and place” and will likely be made before the end of the year, according to Henry Li, GM of BYD’s export division.

    Backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the Shenzhen based company wants to be the first Chinese company to sell electric and hybrid cars in Western Europe, and is aiming for cities that subsidise eco cars. The push will start next year with models such as the E6 electric car, a Honda Odyssey sized five seater that uses two electric motors for a 330 km range before it needs to recharge.

    Other cars in the pipeline include the F3DM plug-in hybrid sedan, which looks like a Corolla Altis from the front and a Honda City from the rear. BYD could eventually design and build cars in Europe, the company revealed.

    Back home, BYD has a partnership with Daimler to produce electric vehicles. It has invested $88 million in the 50:50 partnership that will create a new brand of EVs for Chinese market, now the world’s largest.

     

  • BYD Auto’s first SUV caught in the open

    In BYD, Cars, China, Spyshots / By / / 101 comments


    BYD Auto is perhaps better known here as a Chinese brand with a range that rips off other cars, but the ambitious Shenzhen based automaker is actually pretty advanced in the development of hybrids and EVs, and counts Warrern Buffet as a stake holder. We struggle to understand why BYD won’t invest in car design or hire foreign design houses like what many of its local rivals are doing. Perhaps it’s not because they aren’t capable of an original looking car, and apeing the looks of successful models could be a strategy in itself.

    Here are pics of the company’s first SUV caught testing. Speculated to carry the name S6, it will have a full electronic sunroof, a sliding luggage rack and could introduce keyless entry. Power is likely to be from the same engine as the BYD M6, a Mitsubishi supplied 4G69 2.4-litre with 160 bhp and 215Nm. China Car Times also says that a 2.0-litre model self developed engine will be included in the lineup; it makes 140 bhp and 186Nm and will only be available with a manual transmission.

    As for the S6′s looks, we’ll let you draw the similarities. More images after the jump.

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  • BYD considering taking Maybach off Daimler’s hands?

    In BYD, Cars, China, Maybach, Rumours / By / / 6 comments

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    We got news earlier this year that BYD and Daimler AG would be teaming up to develop electric vehicles and EV-related components in China. BYD is a Chinese company and is best known for coming from a battery manufacturing background, thus giving it an advantage in the new world of electric vehicles as well as being backed by famous investor Warren Buffet.

    “We continue to push ahead as a global leader in electric mobility. Daimler’s know-how in electric-vehicle architecture and BYD’s excellence in battery technology and e-drive systems are a perfect match,” said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler’s Chairman of the Management Board.

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    But apparently being in the same ‘electric bed’ has led to some more discussions and word is that BYD is considering buying Daimler’s Maybach luxury brand. Maybach hasn’t been doing very well compared to Rolls-Royce and Bentley, although I have to admit that its scarcity on the road lends it a far more superior presence compared to its rivals, at least here in Malaysia. I have never seen a Maybach with civilian plates here in Malaysia – only royal seals, while you can see lots of rich people driving Bentley Continental GTs around.

    But the Maybach itself is based on a really old W140 S-Class platform – the same one as the famous Princess Diana car. It is of course updated and refined to Maybach standards but the fact remains that Maybachs still look like giant S-Classes. Rumours are that Maybach’s sole model will probably undergo one last facelift in April and then once that model runs out, it will be shut down. If BYD buys over Maybach it may be able to do something with it – a big Maybach with massive in-wheel electric motors and batteries may end up being the fastest, quietest and most advanced luxury cruiser around.

     
 
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