Here is part of the calcars report. These people have technical
details not available elsewhere.
I am a little surprised to realize that I have mixed feelings about
this development. Naturally, I am delighted because the world needs
plug-in hybrids, and this one is actually on sale. Congratulations to
the BYD company and Mr. Wang. He deserves to reach his goal of
building the largest automobile company in the world by 2025.
Congratulations to Warren Buffett, who brought this about with a mere
$232 million, or 0.7% of the taxpayers' money that the Big Three
intend to burn through and waste in the next few months.
On the other hand I do feel chagrin that US companies are so utterly
incapable of doing anything like this. I did not think I still had
that much patriotic sympathy for American companies left in me, but I
do. I feel very sorry for the workers. Not a bit sorry for the
managers! Anyone familiar with automotive technology could have seen
this coming years ago.
- Jed
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED: FIRST MASS-PRODUCTION PHEV ON SALE -- IN CHINA
The Chinese battery company BYD Group lives up to its name, "Build
Your Dreams." This week it began selling a $22,000 PHEV with a huge
62-mile battery range (not 80 as misreported) to fleet customers in
China. BYD hopes to sell 10,000 in a year, followed by European
sales, with vehicles coming to the U.S. around 2011. The media took
notice in September when Warren Buffet's MidAmerican Energy Holdings
bought 9.9 percent of BYD for $232 million. The only negative
analysts can point to is that the vehicle's "fit and finish" aren't
up to US standards.
Green Car Congress describes the F3DM operating in three ways: "Full
battery-powered EV mode; series-hybrid mode, in which an engine
drives a generator as a range-extender; and parallel hybrid mode, in
which the engine and motor both provide propulsive power."
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/12/byd-f3dm-plug-i.html
. . .
To gain an appreciation of BYD's global ambitious, here are excerpts
about CEO Wang Chaunfu from The Financial Times "The quiet man of
cars" by John Reed and Patti Waldmeir
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d026264-a76d-11dd-865e-000077b07658.html.
Everyone agrees the world needs greener cars and Wang Chuanfu
believes he is the man to deliver them - by combining Chinese brains
and hard work with Warren Buffett's money. The quietly spoken Mr Wang
says his goal is to make BYD the world's largest car company by 2025. . . .
