| Type | Subsidiary of BYD Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, Guangdong, China Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Key people | Wang Chuanfu, Chairman |
| Products | Automotive goods |
| Parent | BYD Company Limited |
| Website | byd.com |
BYD Automobile Co Ltd (simplified Chinese: 比亚迪汽车; Pinyin: Bǐyàdí Qìchē) is a Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. The firm was established in 2003 and is a part of BYD Co Ltd, an innovative rechargeable battery maker.[1]
As of 2010 production capacity is estimated at 700,000 units/year, and that year's sales reached 519,800 making the company the sixth largest Chinese car-maker by units sold.[2] 2010 also saw continued popularity for its F3 model, which became the most-purchased car in China.[3]
Contents |
BYD Co Ltd created the wholly owned subsidiary BYD Auto a year after its 2002 acquisition of the Qinchuan Automobile Company.[4] While the Chinese State is credited with development of an indigenous auto industry,[5] BYD Auto may have been created in the absence of a State policy explicitly supporting independently owned automobile manufacturers.[6]
In 2008 BYD Auto began selling its first mass-produced, full hybrid vehicle, the BYD F3DM.[7] China subsidizes oil (an incentive for the State to encourage use and manufacture of electric cars), and Chinese automakers see opportunities in less mature electric vehicles because Western companies have yet to develop much of a lead in the technology.[8] In late December 2008 Warren Buffet spent $230 million buying up a 10% stake in BYD Auto's parent, BYD Company.[9] In 2009 the company sold 448,400 cars in China, and two-thirds of sales were its BYD F3 model.[10] That same year saw BYD exports its cars to Africa, South America and the Middle East.[11]
A future joint venture with Daimler AG, Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Company, will focus on EV development and upmarket, BYD-branded sedans.[12] As of March 2011 the new company has received a business license from the Chinese State and BYD, contractual agreement from its German partner.[13]
While the majority of sales are domestic, some models are exported to other developing countries: BYD cars are sold in Bahrain by Fakhro Motors,[14] BYDs are distributed in the Dominican Republic by Peravia Motors[15] (3,000 cars serve as taxis in the capital, Santo Domingo[16]), a Russian company, TagAZ, assembles BYD models in Russia,[17] and BYDs are offered in Ukraine as well.[18]
The company has also expressed a desire to enter the European and Israeli markets and hopes to sell vehicles in the United States, too.[19] Its US headquarters is set to be located in LA[20] and BYD plans to start selling an electric car, the e6, there in 2012.[21]
BYD Auto has an eclectic product line that encompasses daily drivers of all sorts, including small compacts, people carriers and small sedans. Hybrid electric vehicles are also among its products, and an all-electric model may be currently on offer.
Provisioned parts that go into BYD vehicles may be foreign designed, made in China by foreign firms, or perhaps even ordered from overseas. Non-Chinese auto part makers BYD is associated with include Autoliv[22] and BorgWarner.[23]
BYD, like many other private Chinese car manufacturers, has been accused of copying its vehicle designs from other companies. A staff member at Honda claimed that the BYD F3 was "a known copy" of the Toyota Corolla (with Honda Fit design cues).[25] Another model too, the BYD F1, has been described as "a clear copy" this time of the Toyota Aygo.[26]
Domestic dealerships have been known to take advantage of this and replace the badging of BYD vehicles with those of other car manufacturers including Toyota.[25] Micheal Austin, vice president of BYD America, has acknowledged the issue saying that the practices of some franchised dealers have made BYD "uncomfortable".[25]
Production bases include two production bases in Xi'an, an R&D center and production base in Shenzhen and an R&D center in Shanghai.[27]
In 2010 the Chinese State halted construction of a third Xi'an production base.[28] Building was allowed to resume in Spring, 2011.[29] A production complex in Changsha, Hunan province, will soon become operational.[30]