It was seen here before, but now it’s officially official: BYD and Daimler signed a joint-venture agreement to develop electric car(s) for the Chinese market.
The new company, called Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd will owned 50:50 by BYD and Daimler. The two companies will invest RMB 600 million (about 88 million USD) to form the new joint-venture, headquartered in Shenzhen, the same city as BYD.
Regardless of the success of this new JV, one can see how associating themselves with Mercedes-Benz’s parent company will certainly give BYD more credibility, or as the Chinese call it, “face.” BYD will not be producing cars for Daimler, but developing cars with them.
Hopefully this does not go down as the Daimler-Chrysler partnership. Excerpts from the press release below:
Mr. Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Company Limited:
“Together with Daimler we are making excellent progress identifying opportunities to utilize the strengths of both companies to create a new brand of electric cars for China. This is a unique and exciting initiative and together we are pushing hard to bring this new electric vehicle to market as soon as possible.”
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG:
“Our new joint venture is well positioned to make the most of the vast potential of electric mobility in China. We are fortunate to have excellent joint venture partners in China and the establishment of this research and technology center with BYD adds another dimension to our growing presence in this important market.”
Congratulation Mr. Wang! No wonder you are #1 rich person in China. I hope anyone who have invested in BYD stock would get a rewarding killing. I would regard BYD as a venture capital which focus on making money as its prime objective. Starting from rechargeable battery, then electronic components, solar-cell panel and finally automobile, BYD will invest the minimal amount to get the most profit. Whichever line of business BYD is involved, that business will face adverse consequence. Will BYD set a good example and lead China to a brighter future, I am afraid not. In China nothing is impossible but BYD’s success story will not repeat elsewhere.
“BYD will invest the minimal amount to get the most profit”
Every company tries to do just that, if BYD can do it successfully, kudos to them.
“Whichever line of business BYD is involved, that business will face adverse consequences”
Care to elaborate?
1) State of art technology is not the selling point
2) Lowest price is the key to success
3) Association with well-known names get good propaganda result
BYD is currently making a good fortune but will this kind of pratice last? There are good guys and bad guys around us and BYD is certainly not a good guy. Especially in China all business are conducted in such a way that the developed countries will not allow.
“BYD is certainly not a good guy”. Who else do you see working as hard as BYD to develop new technology that can provide a solution to making vehicles more green? Great job slamming the door on a company that actually cares.
State-of-the-art technology is one of the best selling points.
I strongly disapprove your conclusion that BYD is a green with state of art technology company. The Fe battery (BYD’s top selling point) is just another ordinary litheum-ion battery. The technology is fully developed in America, Europe and Japan, the key here why BYD is so famous is its ability to produce the battery at the lowest cost. Right this is where BYD beats the competitors. What Daimler looking for in this JV is the cheap battery from BYD and the future potential of EV in Chinese market where the Chinese government will subsidise heavily. At this moment BYD’s gas engine vehicles contribute the most profit, don’t tell me that it is a green company when the sales target in 2010 doubles that in 2009. Where are the sales from F3DM, F6DM and E6?
The sales will pick up, because the people are the ones not yet ready to buy an alternative energy vehicle, not BYD. By the way, you got your information on their batteries from? Do you work for BYD?
BYD state of the Art technologies, sure, let me ask you three questions: where, why and when did you ever see state of the art tech from BYD. “Why” because it could have never been in real live.
Nobody every drove a state of the art electric vehicle from BYD, even though it was first introduced, if i remember right, in Detroit 2006.
So, that state of the art electric car does not exist, their gasoline versions are junk, quality wise, just check the gaps of the doors to get an idea, Chery does a factor 10x better job…
Likewise are electronic products from BYD, i bought an car alarm unit made by BYD’s electronic devision, men what a piece of %#$@%^, are they doing anything right?
BYD is nothing than a marketing trick, supported by foreign cash.