The BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid, made in China, might be headed south. The Environment Bureau of Hong Kong has purchased two BYD F3DM hybrid cars for testing purposes. The bureau will work together with the equivalent agency in Shenzhen, the nearby city where the car is built, to certify the use and the green credentials of the vehicle, preparing the car for sale in Hong Kong. BYD's reasoning is simple: a car validated by the Hong Kong agency will offer purchasers a more objective assesment of the car's real-life performances and will surely increase the vehicle's reputation. This is something BYD could use after the lackluster sales of the model in China. Hong Kong, for its part, will get cleaner cars that can be used in one of the most crowded cities in the world.



[Source: Gasgoo]

The bubble of anonymity surrounding BYD outside of its home in China might be about to burst. Last week, we learned that Volkswagen had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese automaker (first hinted at a month ago) to work together "in the area of electric mobility." Turns out that Ford and an as-yet-unnamed European automaker are also pursuing "similar arrangements" with BYD. Warren Buffet must be smiling, since BYD's stock price has more than doubled this year, according to Auto Observer.

Now, who might the unnamed automaker be? There aren't any obvious choices. Daimler just announced a partnership with Tesla, but did say that Tesla would not be its only electric vehicle partner. BMW uses AC Propulsion packs in the MINI E. Opel (GM) is using batteries from South Korean company LG Chem for the Chevy Volt (and Ampera). Renault (and Nissan) seem to be all set with their various partnerships and Better Place. Fiat? Citroën?

[Source: Auto Observer via All Cars Electric]

Last week, Volkswagen and Chinese automaker BYD signed a memorandum of understanding to work together "in the area of electric mobility" and vehicles that use li-ion batteries. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu (yes, the guy who likes to drink battery fluid) and VW's Martin Winterkorn signed the MOU in Wolfsburg, Germany. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board for Technical Development at Volkswagen, said in a statement (available after the jump) that, "Hybrids and electric vehicles will play an increasingly important role [for VW], of course. Particularly for the Chinese market, potential partners such as BYD could support us in quickly expanding our activities."

Perhaps VW was kicked into action by another German automaker taking a look at another EV automaker?


[Source: VW]

The city of Shenzhen, China, where automaker BYD is located, has decided to give its citizens a boost to purchase the locally-made cars. In addition to the nation-wide grants, which can be worth up to 50,000 yuan ($7,320) when buying a hybrid vehicle (60,000 yuan if the vehicle is all-electric), Shenzen is offering discounts up to 60 percent of the car's value. For a 149,800 yuan BYD F3 Dual Mode hybrids (when it becomes available to everybody next June), citizens will be able to get discounts of nearly 90,000 yuan.

A second city in China, Chongqing, is also offering incentives: 36,000 yuan in subsidies and an exemption in bridge tolls of 7,000 yuan when buying a locally-made Junjie (or Jiexun) hybrid MPV, which costs 140,000 yuan.

Gallery: 2009 BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid

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[Source: Gasgoo]

Remember BYD's non-toxic and somewhat edible battery technology? These lithium iron phosphate batteries can reportedly be produced at a relatively low cost and are already being used by BYD in its own F3DM plug-in hybrid. The Chinese automaker had previously announced that it was in talks with two European and one North American automakers to license this technology. According to reports coming from China, one of those European companies is Volkswagen.

Workers from the Chinese automaker will soon travel to VW's headquarters in Germany to demonstrate the technology. We're not yet sure what other automakers are in talks with BYD, but the company claims to have several more interested parties. BYD's hybrid vehicles are currently only available in China, but the automaker has said it has plans to launch electric vehicles here in America at some point.


[Source: Gasgoo via Green Car Advisor]

Wang Chuan-Fu, CEO at Chinese automaker BYD, has made headlines all around the internet over the last few days for doing something that seems absolutely insane: drinking battery fluid. Most people are familiar with all kinds of batteries, from the disposable alkaline cells that frequently power toys and remote controls to the nickel-based rechargeable cells that we put in lots of things like digital cameras and radio control cars. In the automotive realm, we most often think of the big, heavy lead-acid batteries under the hood of nearly every car or truck in the world.

For the most part, one thing that's always remained constant when it comes to batteries is that they are highly toxic. We may soon need to retrain ourselves on that point. Zero Motorcycles uses high-tech lithium ion batteries that are fully non-toxic, and company founder Neal Saiki has said that they are even safe to eat. Wang Chuan-Fu went a step further and demonstrated that its electrolyte was safe to drink. We're not suggesting anyone make a habit out of ingesting their vehicle's batteries, but battery safety is an important point and the ramifications of creating tons and tons of batteries for automotive use isn't yet fully understood.

At this point, it definitely seems as if electric vehicles are a much better option than petroleum-powered vehicles, though, and battery technology is still very much in its infancy. The search for new materials and processes is sure to continue, and environmental concerns will stay at the forefront in their development, and that's definitely a good thing.


[Source: CNN]

Chinese manufacturer BYD has announced talks to supply electric batteries for two European and one North American carmaker. These deals would surely maximize benefits from its proprietary lithium-ion batteries technology, which are made in Shenzhen, China. These batteries are already installed in the F3DM sedan that is currently sold exclusively to Government agencies, but which will be available for the general public next summer. Mr. Wang also stated that the company's ability to produce lithium-ion battery cells at relatively low cost, in part because of its choice of technology (iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion) and low labor costs, gives the company an advantage over other battery makers.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: BYD F6DM and F3DM

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[Source: Gasgoo]

In September 2008, Warren Buffett's holding company bought a ten percent stake in Chinese automaker BYD. BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, has been moving forward with electric drive vehicle and lithium ion battery development, beating American and Japanese rivals to market with a plug-in hybrid. It's these eco-technologies that attracted Buffett's company in the first place. Now, BYD said it will show off its cars in the U.S. in May at Buffett's general shareholder meeting in Omaha. BYD will display either the F3DM (a plug-in hybrid, seen in the gallery below) or the E6 (an elecric vehicle with a 250-mile range, above) at the event. The F3DM has been on sale in China since December. BYD also displayed its cars at the Detroit Auto Show this past January.


[Source: News.cn]

In my first column reality checking the Detroit Auto Show, some of you questioned my assertion that even Toyota's relatively high-volume hybrids are probably not profitable. Of course, Toyota has lowered the costs of its Hybrid Synergy Drive components over many years and hundreds of thousands of units. But I believe they're still too high for any Toyota Hybrid - even the Prius or the soon-to-come higher-priced Lexus HS 250h - to turn a profit.

I can't prove it - Toyota is not about to share its cost numbers with me or anyone else - but that's my opinion, and these are "opinion" columns. Yours may differ, and yours may be right. But I'll bet no one outside of Toyota knows for sure.

What most folks outside the industry don't see or comprehend are the enormous costs of designing, testing, developing and validating every one of the thousands of parts and pieces that go into every modern vehicle. Beyond the mostly expensive and relatively low-volume hybrid system components themselves are all the Prius' specific body, chassis, electrical and comfort and convenience parts and pieces, few of which are shared with other vehicles. The addition of the new Lexus HS 250h on the same architecture will help by raising the volumes of parts that are shared, but I doubt whether even that will turn a profit at its higher prices but much lower volumes.

Am I suggesting that Toyota is fibbing by claiming that Prius is profitable? It depends on how they calculate their costs. If they add up the costs of all those parts and pieces - including the still very expensive battery, EVT transmission, motors, wiring, control systems and more - and toss in the relatively minor cost of assembly, the total may indeed be less than the Prius' average selling price. But they would have to discount all those years and huge costs of design, testing, development and validation, which must be spread out ("amortized") over hundreds of thousands, even millions, of units. Their business plan has depended on long-term profitability from growing sales of higher-priced luxury hybrids and sales of the Synergy drive system to other OEMs, neither of which has fared as well as hoped.

What I don't understand is why Prius' profitability seems so important to some ABG readers. If each unit sold does make a buck, bully for them. If not, so what? Toyota's whole hybrid program is still a hugely profitable investment as one of the best-ever image-building efforts any automaker has ever carried out. Whatever they have spent on it through the years is worth far more than any amount of paid advertising they could have bought for similar money. What should be important to potential owners is whether any EV's or HEV's selling price is worth the long-term gas savings it offers, whatever its cost to its manufacturer.

That said, let's reality check some other electrically-powered vehicles showcased at this year's Detroit North American International Auto Show. Follow us after the jump.

Apparently, "unveiled" was the wrong word. BYD's F3DM plug-in hybrid has been on sale in China for a few weeks and here in Detroit it was just sitting quietly on the stand on the main floor. No press conference, no attractive ladies standing around; just the car.

In this case, a car might be all it takes. The F3DM Dual Mode is a PHEV that uses a 1.0-liter gasoline engine with an electric motor to offer 168-horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Using a Fe battery pack that gets a quick charge of half the battery pack in ten minutes, BYD says that the F3DM will go over 60 miles on battery power alone. That's astonishing, especially for about $20,000 (US). The company thinks it'll be astonishing enough to create sales of about 10,000 units next year. That number should increase dramatically when the car goes on sale in the U.S. and Europe in 2011. The F6DM was on the stand nearby, and you can read more about that after the jump.