China’s BYD to set up North American operations in LA

By Matt Brogan | May 03rd, 2010

China-based BYD, a vehicle and battery manufacturer, has announced that it will establish its North American headquarters in Los Angeles.

BYD said it plans to produce electric vehicles and associated components in the US for local consumption by 2011. The announcement was made by BYD Chairman, Wang Chuanfu alongside California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor, Antionio Villaraigosa.

The brand’s future HQ will also act as a location for BYD’s solar-panel and battery storage business.

BYD, which does not currently sell vehicles in the US, is planning to sell its e6 all-electric hatchback to Californian fleet users by the end of this year. It is hoped the move will establish a foothold for the company from which it can move nationally, and into retail markets.

“By the end of next year, the plan is to offer several models,” said senior vice president of BYD, Stella Li.

The group does not yet have a distributor partner in the US, but is investigating several options. The specifications and pricing of BYD e6 models for US sale have not yet been finalised.

BYD will employee 150 people directly at its new headquarters with an additional 1000 positions being created in both vehicle sales and support, as well as solar-panel installation.

According to Bloomberg, BYD is already already negotiating the construction of a 10-megawatt iron-phosphate-based battery system for the city with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

The Oracle’s Master!

I hope their cars are more reliable than their TV’s.

cfc

I’ve got a Hisense TV mate, never missed a beat!

Found On Rubbish Dumps

I’ve had two and the speakers vibrate against the plastic in both. The first one died just out of warranty. At least they were cheap but lesson learned.

(FORD)Found On Rubbish Dumps

…but they weren’t /aren’t hisense.

cfc

If your gonna buy Chinese at least buy quality Chinese, none of the really cheap crap like Soniq. My Hisense comes with a 3 yr in home replacement warranty.
(FORD)Fails On Retail Desire

They were both analogue sets. One is still working (the other hit the tip) with the said vibration when the volume goes up to an audible level.

Getting back to the cars, it will take some years for China to establish a reputation for quality.

Vibe

Isn’t this the company that had the fake BMW logo?

cfc

Yep but they changed it.
(FORD)Found On Rubbish Dumps

One of them. Numerous Chinese car companies do not recognise patent laws. Drive through any Asian country and you will see blatant rip offs of anything from Beetles to Bentleys. The current great wall ute front end fell straight off a D22 Navara.

cfc

And the rest of it from an old Rodeo.
Tim

Yet another alais change hey! “Oracles master” getting too many automatic thumbs down? At least you make it obviuos for everyone!

(FORD)First on Rust Development

Yep it’s me. Yippeee. I actually like the thumbs down from the Ford Bogans. It simply serves to highlight their ridiculous alliance to a crap product and we’ve had quite a few chuckles about it here at home. Hence the name Pretty obvious.

If it bothered me I’d go in there and suck up like some of the others do.

I scored you one point for being the first to detect the obvious. But someone didn’t like it apparently and took it off again. Sorry sweety.

(FORD)Fails On Retail Desire

I do find it flattering (though a little weird) that you focus your attention on me and not the topic being discussed. The Oracle does it too alot. Perhaps you guys could share the same shrink and save some money?

It is kind of cyber stalking in a way!

AccentPlanetDotOrg Reloaded

Whoah, the Chinese sell TVs in Australia? Im sorry Im a Yank, and the Chinese havent been able to get their TVs in the market yet.

BYD I love these guys. They will force dirt cheap hyrbid tech in the world, and force others to make hybrids cheaper.

gary

Sorry but the fact is that there is no yank company making TV now

(FORD)Full Of Rectal Discharge

They sold it all to the Asians.

AccentPlanetDotOrg Reloaded

LMAO you guys are a riot.
gary

The investors behind BYD are quite powerful.
(FORD)flatulence On Radial Dunlops

They’ll need to be to get past people’s perceptions of Chinese goods.
Shak

You guys do now this company is supported quiet heavily by Warren Buffet, and if you dont know what he earns or owns well then you are in for a rude shock. China can simply make the products people want nowadays. Cheap electric cars are the future and China is getting in early.
The Watchman

I have said it many times before, we in the West must band together as one to eliminate the chinese once and for all.

Hmm

How are you going to do that? Chinese has been here for over 5,000 years. Longer than any other great civilizations (egypt, indus, maya, mesopotemia). She has been weakened in last 150 year, but survived numerous invasions and now start to thrive again.

You cannot eliminate yours neighbor just because you fear they are going to do well and you are stink economically. it is better to get better yourselves instead of hoping others fail.

Shak

actually the worlds oldest recorded advanced civilisation is the People of the Indus Valley, AKA modern Day Indians, but i think they missed the class on economic domination. BTW CA you should really ban this joke WATCHMAN, as his racist comments are just filthy in our society.

gary

Help yourself, loser

(FORD)Failed On Road Device

Couldn’t agree more Hmm. That they have dominated most sectors of production and now are getting serious about cars is a concern. I just don’t think it will happen that they dominate for a number of years yet. But when they do….

gary

no one is going to dominate car industry, american or german or japanese or chinese

I am not going to buy a chinese car these few years, but chinese car coming in the market will make the car that I want better and more affordable.

(FORD)First On Race Day

The thing is that the products Made in China that most people buy (TV’s, clothes etc) are made by brands which aren’t owned in China.

The public still sees a Chinese made VW as a German car. China’s own car companies don’t have that sort of reputation or quality and reliabilty.

(FORD)Fraudulent On Race Day

They are still made there.

Oh and anyone who knows anything about motor racing knows that Holden had to detune their cars because they were annihilating the failcons and the failcans couldn’t get near them.

(FORD)Failing On Retail Delivery

…but you already knew that!

Joober@work

No car company will ever dominate a market global competition means different cultural background countries will have preference over makers. and not only that its an oligopoly out there with many strong makers who can easily switch strategies to counter the competition, competition will be cut-throat all the way.
LessQQ

you won’t see global takeover like how the Chinese do it.

just the mass of their numbers in everything overwhelms any opposition.

their massive population (= massive market), their massive foreign surplus, massive manufacturing/production, massive numbers of overseas Chinese in every country, eating up massive amounts of every resource etc etc.

most people associate Chinese people as poor in China, but take a closer look at overseas Chinese.
LessQQ

that being said, I’d still stick to Japanese/Euro cars for now, just to be safe =]