Detroit 2008 Preview: BYD to show plug-in hybrid and battery electric cars
A Chinese company plans to jump into the green parade at January's Detroit Auto Show. BYD Auto, which has previously announced plans to build a battery electric car later in 2008, will be one of five Chinese companies showing their wares at Cobo Hall. Along with their internal combustion engined cars, BYD apparently plans to show both plug-in hybrid and pure battery electric cars in Detroit. We don't know much about the BEV, but the PHEV based on their F6 sedan will use a lithium iron phosphate battery (similar to those produced by A123 systems). While General Motors has repeatedly tried to play down expectations for the battery in the Volt, BYD has no such qualms for their car. They are claiming their PHEV will have a 62-mile range on batteries and a total range of 267 miles. BYD wants to start selling the PHEV by the end of 2008 and the BEV in 2009 although plans to bring them to the US may be hampered by patent issues (likely held by A123). Fortunately for them, China typically disregards minor issues like intellectual property.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jeffrey 6:16PM (8/07/2008)
Go to visit BYD's website, I learnt what will happen to big Three in next decade. Wake up!!!
Chinese might do to us is dumping High Tech products with price 1% less than our break even point.
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ryan 8:08AM (11/29/2007)
Oh boy, and here come the gross cultural misunderstandings. China is a country that is group-based. Someone having something and not sharing it with other people would be seen as being a bad or evil person. This can sound extreme to someone from a country like America, whose citizenry believes that people must earn the right (ie, hold monetary items) to obtain things. China is getting better at respecting intellectual property laws, but this is a new concept for them. They aren't going to become another Japan overnight.
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BlackbirdHighway 8:42AM (11/29/2007)
Yes! More PHEVs, more BEVs! Any word on prices yet?
In 10 years, BEVs, and PHEVs will be what percent of new cars sales:
* less than 1%
* more than 1%
* more than 10%
* more than 50%
* more than 90%
* more than 99%
?????????????????????
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Phil L. 10:17AM (11/29/2007)
It's one thing to base a culture on sharing. It's another thing to base an economy's growth on outright thievery.
I believe China's intellectual property culture will change as they transition from pure manufacturing to building their own designs. When one Chinese company is unable to fund their new design work because another company down the street profited without doing their own design work, the push for domestic intellectual property protection will begin.
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Dave 11:05AM (11/29/2007)
First of all, we don't know jack about this car. How can you call this IP theft when we don't have any info about it?
Second, since the Chinese already own all of our debt...they mise well own the rest of us. At least it's better for the earth that burning fossil fuels from the mid east.
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ug 12:26PM (11/29/2007)
A123 has its own patent difficulties to deal with.
http://271patent.blogspot.com/2006/09/patent-battle-heats-up-for-lithium.html
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Rich 7:30PM (11/29/2007)
hold on, would you. we don't know anything about their technology yet, how can you make a judgment that they are "thrives". IP issue are notorious complicated, take a long time for experts in the filed to resolve. even so, many judgment came out of IP court are ridicules. if it turns out to be LPF, i don't think anyone company hold the whole patents to make it work, someone hold the patent for the material, A123's funder(a professor from MIT) hold patent to make it conductive, and BYD may hold some patent to manufacture it stable and consistent. at the end there must be a patent pool to make things work.
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pietro Cépparo 10:00AM (1/16/2008)
Amo le automobili ibride con batterie in quantità tali da non sprecare energia anche nei percorsi misti salita / discesa ( l'Italia ha molti percorsi con queste particolarità). 100km con batteria mi sembra un buon compromesso!
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