{"id":170554,"date":"2010-01-12T13:07:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-12T18:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3087194156628161158.post-1557996988854778492"},"modified":"2010-01-12T13:14:04","modified_gmt":"2010-01-12T18:14:04","slug":"businessweek-buffett-backed-byd-sees-u-s-as-pivotal-for-electric-car-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/170554","title":{"rendered":"BUSINESSWEEK: Buffett-Backed BYD Sees U.S. as Pivotal for Electric-Car Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 11, 2010, 08:10 PM EST<\/span><\/p>\n

By Alan Ohnsman<\/p>\n

\"Fishpond\"<\/a>
<\/span>SPONSOR<\/span><\/p>\n

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — BYD Co., the Chinese auto- and battery maker backed by Warren Buffett, may sell a rechargeable electric car in the U.S. as soon as this year to meet demand for fuel-efficient models, the company\u2019s founder said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. is a very important market for BYD in the future, and the electric vehicle is our future,\u201d Chairman Wang Chuanfu said yesterday in an interview at the Detroit auto show. \u201cWe will start toward the market in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting U.S. sales in 2010 would accelerate the timetable BYD set last year, when the Shenzhen, China-based automaker targeted a 2011 debut. Buffett\u2019s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns a 10 percent stake in the company.<\/p>\n

BYD sees a chance to reach U.S. buyers who want cars that use little or no gasoline and cut emissions of greenhouse gases, and it faces pressure in China to develop electric vehicles for energy security, Wang said.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s auto market grew to 13.6 million units in 2009, surpassing the U.S. for the first time, and \u201cit\u2019s possible over the next five years it will grow to 20 million,\u201d Wang said. \u201cWe\u2019ll consume a huge amount of oil that China doesn\u2019t have and may not be able to buy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wang, 43, is to discuss details of BYD\u2019s plans for the U.S. later today at a press conference at the North American International Auto Show. While overall auto sales in China grew 53 percent last year, Wang said BYD\u2019s deliveries jumped 160 percent to about 450,000.<\/p>\n

Buffett, 79, has yet to visit BYD\u2019s factories in China, Wang said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope he\u2019ll come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

–With assistance from Tian Ying in Beijing. Editors: Ed Dufner, Jamie Butters<\/p>\n

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