World's First Plug-In Electric Car Goes On Sale Next Month -- in China
by Alex Pasternack, Beijing, China on 11.20.08
And It's Coming This Way
As the ghost of GM's assassinated electric car haunts a fearful Detroit, another boogeyman is waiting in the wings: the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid electric car, being readied for its December release -- in China.
BYD, a company that first made its reputation as the world's largest maker of cell phone batteries, has announced it will release the F3DM hybrid sedan on December 15. And BYD says it plans to release a version of the car in the US and Europe in 2010 or 2011, just when GM plans to begin selling its own plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt.
As Mike has reported previously, the F3DM -- which can be charged using a standard electrical outlet -- can switch between a fully electric mode and a hybrid one that uses both electricity and gasoline. BYD says the car can travel as far as 60 miles (100 km) after one charge in full-electric mode, or longer when also using its small gas tank. The all-electric range of the Chevrolet Volt is only 40 miles.
The F3DM, which has been in research and development for five years, is currently awaiting government approval, reports Caijing magazine. It is expected to be launched in 14 Chinese cities including Guangzhou and Shenzhen at a cost of about RMB 150,000, or around $22,000.
GM has said the Volt, which will be America's first plug-in hybrid, will be released in 2010 or possibly 2011 at a cost of $35,000.
While Chinese automakers have yet to enter the US market, GM should be driving scared: BYD is expecting to enter the United States and European markets in 2010 with the larger E6 sedan. Already Portland, Oregon, is bending over backwards to convince BYD to set up its US operations in the city.
In August, BYD announced it would be making its first foray abroad in Israel, "a country that strongly supports environmental technologies," said a BYD executive.
The Larger F6, Slated for Overseas Release
The Numbers
According to BYD, its proprietary lithium-iron-phosphate batteries (LiFePO4), can last for 600,000 km before they need to be changed, giving the car around a 10 year life span. The car uses 12 kwh per 100 km and can travel over 300km per charge. BYD also claim, reports China Car Times, that their car can be recharged by 50% within 10 minutes; by using a home electrical outlet, the BYD F3DM can be fully recharged within 7 hours.
And how does it perform? The company reports that its car gets a top speed of over 93 miles per hour, and takes less than 13.5 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph.
Buffeted By Warren
We don't know much about BYD's technology, but one American probably does: Warren Buffet. In September the world's richest man invested $230 million in the automaker's parent company, BYD Co. (That day, BYD saw its shares jump more than 40 percent.)
BYD Auto, now China's second-largest independent automaker, will use the investment to raise standards in order to gain access to foreign markets and continue advancing its battery technology. In February, the company switched from using Mitsubishi engines to producing its own engines, and it recently built a 120,000 square meter R&D center.
For its part, MidAmerican Holdings, a division of Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, gets to further its vision of developing storage devices for solar and wind power -- one of the main limitations of those renewable energies -- while advancing electric cars. Said David Sokol, the chairman of MidAmerican, at a press conference:
“This is a technology that can really be a game changer if we’re serious about reducing” emissions of carbon dioxide, the main gas associated with man-made global warming...
Go to page 2: The Road Blocks and Autobahns Ahead
We have been watching BYD's evolution for some time now...
your post makes many excellent points re: the opportunities and real world challenges... thank you!
I think it does raise a bigger question about the US auto industry... and the future of the combustion engine.
Do 'greens' continue to push for incremental improvements to this 19th century propulsion system via hybrids, biofuels or higher CAFE standards?
Or do we push the US to accelerate commercialization of next generation energy storage systems around batteries fuel cells and capacitors?
I think we have some tough questions to answer-- and the simplest answer- improve oil fed combustion engines might be the wrong bet.
Thanks for the post!!
Gary G
Editor
TheEnergyRoadmap.com
http://www.theenergyroadmap.com
Won't work in China because most Chinese live in high skyscraper apartment. BYD is a company that like to copy Germany car maker's deign and give false promises. I wouldn't believe a thing that coming out of their mouth until I see it.
These look like Toyota Corolla and Toyota Avalon clones. It is nice to see some actual progress in the automotive world though!
I think it was either Wired or Popular Science that ran an article some time ago about the Meizu miniOne, the "iPhone killer" phone that China made; the article also referred to Chinese clones of vehicles that were more dangerous in crashes and less reliable mechanically. Hopefully VW makes an electric Jetta that's much higher-quality.
Even if all of the claims of this car are true, we probably won't see it in north america any time soon.
The big 3 and auto workers union have too much political pull. Detroit will get a bailout, and these chinese cars will be slapped with a massive tariff.
Ford has a 65 MPG car debuting in 2009 in Europe and they have already stated it will not be sold in North America. Here is the article.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_37/b4099060491065.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5
We have built a terrible legacy with vehicles, we need the auto industry to fail so it can be remade correctly, with new technology and accountability.
FWIW, the first plug in electric car was sold over 100 years ago.
so much for "first" but congratulations on the effort, and hopefully they will succeed and inspire some competition!
nice concept but how the hell do you plug it in? I live in Shanghai, hard to imagine how I'd charge this sucker, but would love to be enlightened on this...
I am elated to see these kinds of things happening. With a population nearing 2 billion people, the significance of such progress with regards to protecting the environment is immeasurable. The future could be bright for the auto sector if governments around the world decide to invest in this important industry.
We need to get on about the business of becoming energy independent and using alternative sources of fuel. The high cost of gas this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. While we are doing the happy dance around the lower prices at the pumps OPEC is planning further production cuts to drive prices back up. We have the knowledge, we have the technology, what America lacks is a plan. Jeff Wilson has a new book out that is beyond awesome. The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW. He walks you through every aspect of oil, what it is used for besides gas, our depletion of it. The worlds increased need ie 3rd world countries becoming more modernized and consuming more. He explains EVERY alternative energy source and what role they can play to replace oil. His research is backed up with hard data and even includes a time frame and proposed legislative agendas to wean America off oil. www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
Good news, I think the only problem they have is the NCAP crash testing but it shouldn't be a problem it is a design issue not a technical one so they could basically copy something from toyota or something.
BYD from what I know is a company who give more or equal importance to electric cars as they do to gas powered ones. Compare this with any of the big American or European auto makers, who treat the electric market as something of a joke or something as a marketing tool to us treehuggers.
I hope that this company is a rerun of the Japanese companies in the US in the 1980s which were regarded as a joke but now run the show.
The good news for people in the US is that there are quite a few actual Made in the US electric vehicles being developed which will be hitting the roads as early as next year.