At the Plug-In Conference last week Mike Tinsey, the global manager of Ford’s sustainability activities, admitted that Build Your Dreams Auto (BYD Auto), the China based battery and car manufacturer, could be a “real threat”. Now it’s easy to see why.
BYD has secured an agreement to supply lithium-ion batteries to one of China’s top three auto groups for applications in hybrid vehicles - making it the first lithium-ion supply deal with a domestic Chinese manufacturer.
Due to professional secrecy, the name of the Chinese manufacturer has not been revealed but it marks a significant breakthrough for BYD, which is 10 per cent owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway and sold 170,000 vehicles in 2008 with target sales of 400,000 this time around.
The company launched its production plug-in hybrid F3DM last December and in January 2009 it brought the car, along with the F6DM (a larger version of the F3DM) and an all-new battery electric crossover, the e6, to the North American International Auto Show. In May this year, it signed a memorandum with Volkswagen to explore options for partnership in the area of hybrid and electric vehicles.
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