Late last year BYD announced it would be the world’s biggest car manufacturer by 2025, now it seems that BYD are backing out of that goal in a bid to shore up meager sales in their home markets.
Two years ago, BYD Auto announced its ambition with certainty to become the No.1 automaker by sales in China in 2015 and 2025 over the world.
Under the pressure of a weakening auto market in China, the Warren Buffet-backed carmaker has become more and more low-key since August 4 when it slashed its …

Bloomberg reports in detail:
BYD Co., the Chinese automaker backed by Warren Buffett, fell as much as 3.9 percent in Hong Kong trading today, the lowest level in almost a year, after second-quarter profit was below analysts’ expectations.
BYD posted a second-quarter profit of 717 million yuan ($106 million), less than the 962 million-yuan average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. It’s the first time BYD, whose F3 car was the best-selling model in China in the first half, reported second-quarter results, and no year-earlier comparison was available.
The carmaker, 10 percent …

Earlier this year BYD and Daimler signed a joint venture agreement that would see Mercedes provide the engineering expertise, and BYD supply the electric drive chain knowledge to the project. The first car is due out in 2013 and will be built on the front wheel drive Mercedes B-Class model, and will be priced high – today’s media reports are indicating that it will be in the 500,000rmb segment which will make it a premium vehicle.
Interestingly enough, pictures of a modified Mercedes B-Class were posted to China Car Times several …

Whilst BYD’s sales goal for 2010 has been lowered, this does not mean that BYD are going to stop developing cars, in fact BYD is set to launch the G6 soon. BYD’s G6 sedan is the upmarket version of the already existing F6 sedan, and will be sold in BYD’s A3 sales network with a 2.0L and a 2.4L engine. The A3 network is made up of mid to high end BYD models and will find itself in the same showrooms as the BYD F3-R, S8, G3 and M6 MPV.\
The …

BYD’s L3 model will launch later this month according to media sources. The L3 is yet another improved model of the popular F3, which sprouted the G3 and now the L3 as well.
The L3 will be powered by BYD’s recently developed 1.8L engine and produces 90kw of power and 160Nm of torque, which will propel the L3 to 175kph should the driver wish to do so. The improved engine is supposed to offer low consumption, low sound and low emissions. The 1.8L engine will also be mated to a CVT …

At the end of 2009 when BYD blew away its 400,000 production goal with relative ease, it was expecting to do the same in 2010 and lowered its sales goal to an impressive 800,000 vehicles. However, the middle months of 2010 have turned out to be slow months indeed for the Chinese car industry and even the ever optimistic BYD have been forced to lower sales goal from 800,000 units to 600,000 for 2010.
The original sales goal of 800,000 was an impressive goal, but BYD have been forced into a …

BYD may have recently launched their MPV, but their heart lies in sedan manufacturing as they made their first big win with the unstoppable BYD F3 sedan. The i6 is BYD’s furthering of their plans to produce more upmarket vehicles, another model, the BYD L3, which is a more upmarket version of the BYD F3 will launch in August this year.
Whilst it seems like a confusing situation BYD will have the F3, G3, and L3 models on sale in China – although they are basically the same car from the …

From GE Anderson’s Forbes blog:
BYD, a Hong Kong-listed automaker based across the border in Shenzhen, has aims of becoming bigger than Toyota someday, but in the short term at least, they may have to scale back their expectations. At the beginning of this month BYD broke ground on its second factory in the city of Xian. This new 5 billion yuan factory, due to open in 2011, has a projected capacity of 400,000 cars a year.
Yesterday, BYD was …

The BYD M6 was launched yesterday and has opened a new challenge for MPV makers. The M6 is BYD’s first MPV and has gained a lot of attention due to its likeness to the Toyota Previa MPV that is also sold in China. BYD initially launched four different models of the M6 and these are:

2.0L Basic – 139,800rmb
2.0L Luxury – 150,800
2.4L Basic – 177,800
2.4L Flagship – 239,800

The M6 measures (LxWxH) 4820mm x 1810 x 1765mm, and has a wheelbase of 2950mm meaning it is big enough to carry its intended …

From BusinessWeek:
BYD Co., the Chinese automaker partly owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, started assembling cars in Russia, BYD’s local partner TagAZ said.
TagAZ completed assembly of its first BYD F3 sedan, the best-selling passenger car in China last year, the Taganrog, southern Russia-based company said on its website.
BYD may produce 10,000 cars at TagAZ by the end of the year and replace South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. as the Russian factory’s main partner, the Kommersant newspaper said today, citing unidentified TagAZ workers. TagAZ makes …

The BYD M6 is BYD’s first MPV to hit the market, and is expected to launch later this year.
The M6 was first unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show in April of this year, and wowed the crowds with yet another Toyota inspired design. The M6 will launch with a 2.0L and a 2.4L Mitsubishi supplied engine.
BYD are aiming this as a more premium product and plan to aim at government, business and large family users. BYD are obviously being very clever with this MPV as they aim to get into …

BYD’s pure electric MPV, which is also China’s first mass produced pure electric car, is set to go on sale in August this year. The BYD E6 is currently on test with a Shenzhen Taxi Company in Shenzen city where they are currently pounding the streets of Shenzhen pulling customers from A to B and sharing data with BYD prior to their August 2010 launch.
The final sales price has not yet been determined, however the Chinese automotive press are estimating around 300,000RMB.
The E6 uses BYD’s own ET-POWER iron based …

BYD have run amok in the Chinese car industry in the past two years, seemingly coming from nowhere with their purchase of a bankrupt state owned car maker into one of the power houses of the Chinese car industry that has made Chery’s and Geely’s growth look rather meager in comparison.
BYD saw sales of over 400,000 vehicles in 2009, and is aiming to double that for 2010 with 800,000 vehicle sales and now they are attempting to enter the premium segment, which BYD has identified as being vehicles that …

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.

The BYD F3DM has not turned into the golden goose that the Chinese green car industry were hoping for, with a merge 13 units being sold in just over a month of being on sale to the general public.
The F3DM was China’s first plug in hybrid which is powered by a 1.0L engine and also an electric motor and battery pack which initially went on sale in late 2008 to companies and government agencies, and was released to private buyers late last month. The poor sales are being blamed on …

The first quarter of 2010 is already over and the results appear to show that auto sales are up 34% in April 2010 over a year previously, however April sales were down 10% over March. Total sales reached 1.56 million units in April alone, and January to April sales were ranked at 6.17 million units, up 60.51% over last year.
With the Chinese government raising tax on sub 1.6L cars from a record low of 5% to 7.5% 2009 auto sales of small displacement cars reached a new high, however for …

BYD has high hopes of entering the US market in the near future, and with rumors circulating of the E6′s entry into the US market later this year an American HQ might just be what BYD needs.
From Yahoo News:
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today was joined by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and BYD Chairman Chuanfu Wang on the steps of Los Angeles’ City Hall to announce that BYD, a Chinese …

BYD’s unstoppable rise to the top of the Chinese car market is still going forward full steam ahead like a run away train, BYD originally aimed for sales of 800,000 units in 2010 after 2009′s 400,000 units but they might just be on track to beat their 2010 goal if they continue like this.
March is the first full month of car sales after the Chinese New Year where the majority of dealerships are closed for around two weeks, thus stunting growth of that month, but March is always a very …

BYD’s growth from miniscule car maker to becoming one of the biggest names in Chinese automotive in a relatively short time, they’ve put together an impressive team of sales staff within their Shenzhen based headquarters who are eager to oversee BYD’s expansion into becoming one of the worlds largest automakers. BYD are planning to up their sales from around 400,000 units in 2009 to over 800,000 units in 2010. A new factory in Xi’an is likely to further their goals with the additional capacity of 400,000 units per year.
BYD got …

BYD’s flagship car, the BYD E6 pure electric MPV, is set to be released as a taxi in Shenzhen city under a testing program before rolling out nationally, and then internationally.
A taxi version of the E6 will be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show later this month in taxi livery. The E6 is good for 300km on a single charge and can hit 140kph and can do the all important 0-100kph run in less than 10 seconds. Of course the E6 only needs 15 minutes to reach an 80% charge, …

Prior to the Beijing Auto Show, BYD have released official pictures of their first SUV, the S6. Spy pictures of the SUV were posted to CCT earlier this week which quickly became a hot topic.
The S6 was reportedly in development for three years and will come packed with technology, such as keyless entry, anti theft, multi-language DVD and GPS systems, reversing cameras, parking assist system and heated wing mirrors and sunroof to clear the frost on cold mornings.
The SUV itself does look rather good, and if it is set to …

BYD have an impressive line up of cars for 2010, with the launch of the L3, the G3, and the M6 all on the verge of being launched or have been launched already, BYD are obviously keen to repeat their massive 2009 sales and are probably on course to become the worlds biggest automaker by 2025. Their latest spy pictures of the BYD SUV show that although it is similar to the Lexus RV it does have its own design style which really suits the front end of the SUV. …

Bah! Knew we should have waited until April 1st to post this one:
From BenzInsider:
Recent rumors that Maybach has been put on the auction block and Chinese car company BYD may be the lucky buyer are not true, says Daimler. In an interview with Reuters, a Daimler spokesperson belied the sale talks, asserting that Maybach, despite having sold only 200 cars last year, is still crucial to Daimler’s branding.
The rumors may have been due to three reasons. One, Daimler and Chinese BYD has a joint venture in the electric cars market …

BYD has plans for yet another sedan, this time it is the L3 and follows the recently launched G3 into production. The L3 is expected to be a higher quality car, and its sole competitors are the JV manufacturers, so that would the Mazda3, the Ford Focus, and the Honda Civic as well as an assortment of other competitors.
Engines for the L3 are expected to be a sole 1.8 offering with a self developed automatic CVT gearbox on board as well. Pricing is expected to be around 120,000rmb at launch …

With Geely’s take over of Volvo, it seems that BYD are eager to follow in their footsteps by hinting at a possible takeover of Maybach from Mercedes. Mercedes previously stated that they were planning to slow down and eventually end Maybach production, however a turn of events have seen Daimler working with BYD to produce an electric car for the Chinese market place and at the same time BYD have expressed interest in taking over Maybach.
A BYD person close to the deal was quoted as saying “As soon as Daimler …