The slowdown in the economy brought about by the credit crunch has forced many Western carmakers to look towards emerging markets for growth. Now however, the role has been reversed with one Chinese car manufacturer looking west – and making green cars its focus.
Start-up company BYD Auto is relying on its plug-in hybrid models, known as the Dual Mode series, to break into the European and US markets. It plans to launch a model later this year known as the F3DM, which will be the world’s cheapest hybrid car with a retail price of just $15,000.
Indeed there are many strings to the BYD Auto bow. It has a fully electric car – the E6 – which will be launched in Israel in 2009, well ahead of the eagerly anticipated Chevy Volt. The company will also launch its plug-in hybrid vehicle, the F6DM, in the country in the same year, targeting Israel due to its demand for electric cars and its plans through Project Better Place to run a nationwide electric service by 2011.
BYD Auto has taken tentative steps further west too, having reached an agreement with a Dutch dealer to supply cars in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. The vehicles are expected to go on sale in these countries in 2010.
Indeed the Chinese manufacturer has already begun showcasing in North America having brought its plug-in hybrid vehicle technology to the North American International Auto Show. The company hopes to begin North American sales in around three- to five years.
