German car making giant Daimler, the company behind both Mercedes-Benz and Smart, has teamed up with China’s BYD, to work on a design concept showcasing the future of electric vehicles.
The vehicle will be presented at the Auto China motor show in April 2012 by Shenzhen Daimler New Technology Company (BDNT), a 50:50 joint venture between Daimler and BYD. It will showcase the company’s brand name and vision and will give the first outlook of BDNT’s fully electric car, which is scheduled to be introduced in 2013.
It is hoped that the electric vehicles will be running by spring with the joint venture leveraging BYD’s expertise in battery technology, and combining that with Daimler’s experience in electric vehicle architecture and safety. Production of the mid-size electric cars will be accompanied by Daimler’s quality management experts and will follow Daimler’s standard production system for passenger cars.
Daimler and BYD first agreed to work together and form BDNT back in 2010. The company then received its business licence in China in February 2011 and has outlined the goal of playing a key role in the growth of electric cars in China.
