{"id":419642,"date":"2010-03-12T02:36:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-12T07:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3087194156628161158.post-6813927772624808755"},"modified":"2010-03-12T02:39:21","modified_gmt":"2010-03-12T07:39:21","slug":"marketwatch-california-delegation-in-china-to-lobby-for-byd-car-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/419642","title":{"rendered":"MARKETWATCH: California delegation in China to lobby for BYD car plant"},"content":{"rendered":"

By John Letzing, MarketWatch <\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A delegation that includes officials from Lancaster, Calif., has traveled to China to meet with electric car maker BYD Co. about locating an assembly plant in the city, located roughly 70 miles north of Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

Lancaster has been in discussions with BYD<\/span> (HK:1211<\/a><\/span> 69.10<\/span><\/b>, -1.40<\/span>, -1.99%<\/span>)<\/span><\/span> (BYDDF<\/a><\/span> 9.07<\/span><\/b>, +0.32<\/span>, +3.66%<\/span>) <\/span> for months about possibly locating an assembly plant in the town, according to Deputy City Manager Jason Caudle. The delegation is scheduled to stay in China until next week and includes Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris, Caudle said. <\/p>\n

Caudle said it was unclear how many jobs could come to Lancaster, which has a relatively high unemployment rate, but he said that, “with any large manufacturing facility, there are hundreds of jobs that are needed.” <\/p>\n

Caudle said BYD is only one of several Chinese firms that the delegation plans to visit, and stressed that the Shenzhen-based car maker has not yet committed to a U.S. location. <\/p>\n

“We’d love to get them here,” said Lancaster communications manager Joe Cabral. <\/p>\n

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Coda Helps Define Future of Electric Cars<\/h3>\n

This could be a defining year for the electric car, and particularly for start-up companies. WSJ’s Joseph B. White provides a look at Coda Automotive’s offering, which combines U.S. and Chinese ingenuity. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

BYD displayed its e6 electric crossover model at the Detroit auto show in January, and said it expected to start selling the car in the U.S. during the second half of this year. The Chinese company made headlines in 2008, when Berkshire Hathaway <\/span> (BRK.B<\/a><\/span> 82.36<\/span><\/b>, +0.29<\/span>, +0.35%<\/span>) <\/span><\/span> (BRK.A<\/a><\/span> 123,453<\/span><\/b>, +203.00<\/span>, +0.16%<\/span>) <\/span> Chairman Warren Buffett invested $250 million in it. <\/p>\n

The company’s establishment of an assembly plant in California would come as Toyota Motor Corp. \/quotes\/comstock\/13*!tm<\/span>\/quotes\/nls\/tm<\/span> (TM<\/a><\/span> 76.94<\/span><\/b>, +0.58<\/span>, +0.76%<\/span>)<\/span><\/span> (JP:7203<\/a><\/span> 3,460<\/span><\/b>, +15.00<\/span>, +0.44%<\/span>) <\/span> moves to close its New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or NUMMI plant — a joint venture with General Motors Co. located in Fremont, Calif., near San Francisco. <\/p>\n

NUMMI’s closure would result in the loss of roughly 4,700 assembly-line jobs. <\/p>\n

BYD’s decision to locate in Lancaster could have “implications statewide,” Cabral said. <\/p>\n

Cabral said winning a BYD plant would play well into Mayor Parrish’s vision of Lancaster — which has a long history in the aerospace industry — as an alternative energy hub. <\/p>\n

Lancaster is currently home to a solar-power plant operated by eSolar Inc., a privately-held firm backed by investors that include Google Inc. <\/span><\/span> (GOOG<\/a><\/span> 581.14<\/span><\/b>, +4.69<\/span>, +0.81%<\/span>) <\/span> and start-up incubator IdeaLab. The eSolar plant in Lancaster provides electricity to Southern California Edison, a unit of Edison International. <\/span> (EIX<\/a><\/span> 34.26<\/span><\/b>, +0.16<\/span>, +0.47%<\/span>) <\/span> <\/p>\n

Unlike much of Los Angeles County, Cabral noted that Lancaster, at roughly 96 square miles, could offer BYD an ample number of potential locations for the construction of a new assembly plant. <\/p>\n

“There’s a lot of open space,” Cabral said. <\/span> <\/p>\n

John Letzing is a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco.<\/span><\/p>\n

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