China's BYD Automobile to make hybrid next year
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid
The Chinese car maker, BYD Automobile Co Ltd, plans to mass produce a hybrid gas-electric car the second half of next year. BYD showed a full electric car, the F3e, a car based on its F3 sedans, at last year's Beijing auto show. I assume BYD's planned hybrid is based on the F3 sedan as well. The battery for BYD's hybrid and electric car are iron based, which BYD says is better than lithium-ion batteries.
"The iron battery proves to have better safety performance and larger capacity. The cost could also be lowered by using abundant resources and affordable raw materials," says BYD in an e-mail. BYD's first car, the F3 sedan, started production in 2005 and sold 51,000 units in 2005. In 2006, BYD sold 60,000 F3s and they expect to sell 100,000 this year.
The Chinese government is really encouraging its carmakers to develop clean cars. Do you think China could take the lead from American and European car makers on hybrids? What about the Japanese?
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[Source: Shanghai Daily]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-09-2007 @ 4:19PM
steven said...
I hope a LOT of that article is getting lost in translation... "BYD said its new electric cars take both gasoline and can be recharged with batteries.".
So who is going to sell you the batteries needed to recharge you electric car that runs on gasoline????
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10-09-2007 @ 7:12PM
Bill said...
They haven't yet been able to make a car that even comes close to meeting U.S. crash test standards.
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10-09-2007 @ 7:37PM
jcwinnie said...
LL, you make want to check with your translator. I think that the BYD translator is referring to a lithium iron phosphate battery, such as LTC makes.
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10-09-2007 @ 7:45PM
Lascelles Linton said...
Jcwinnie, I did not have anything translated. Shanghai Daily claims the battery is "iron based" and better than lithium.
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10-09-2007 @ 8:29PM
Kent Beuchert said...
Since third generation li ions have no safety issues, they must be talking first gen li ions. How far behind in battery technology are they?
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12-12-2007 @ 5:46AM
Paul Evans said...
BYD are technically advanced and supply 25% of all mobile phone batteries globally. They have a massive R&D budget and enormous R&D centre.
Yes, there are still issues with Chinese companies making cars suitable for developed countries. They will get there and soon.
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4-14-2008 @ 3:20PM
Russ said...
BYD has huge ambitions, they have grown from 20 employees in 1998 to 100,000 in 2008! They plan to become China's largest car manufacturer in a few years and the world's largest car manufacturer in a couple of decades. This company has shocked the automotive industry world-wide at how fast they have developed since 2003. Build Your Dreams is THE company to watch.
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