The BYD e6 Electric Car - serving as Taxis, but sales are down
BYD China (Build Your Dreams) represents an international electronics and automobile manufacturing company. The company's main products are cell phones, batteries, and cars. The company has done exceedingly well in the last decade.
BYD sold 449,000 cars in China, and 450,000 vehicles worldwide in 2009. However, sales targets were off by as much as two-thirds in 2010. 2011 saw sales drop another 44%...ouch.
BYD Co. and Daimler Benz set up a 50-50 joint venture to produce a brand expected to be marked in China, now the largest market in the world.
The #2 Chinese auto manufacturer Dongfeng will partner with Nissan in BYD’s home city to study EV transport. This may present a challenge to BYD.
BYD China has successfully tested some 50 modified e6 electric taxicabs in southern China. The e6 is also being tested in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
Build Your Dreams expects to place electric bus units on Frankfurt (Germany) roads. The company has partnered with Singapore transport service provider SMRT to provide 3 EV busses and charging gear to the city.
BYD has been welcomed in Los Angeles by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The company plans to establish a new North American base of operations in LA.
BYD plans to feature its vehicles, solar panels, energy storage systems and advanced LED lighting products. The company will also support R&D efforts at the new City of Angels facility.
In yet another German connection, BYD plans to set up corporate offices in Frankfurt. The Chinese manufacturing concern, Brilliance Auto, has already set up shop there.
However, as with many corporate growth stories, along with the up comes the down. BYD has just hit a few snags. First, the company founded part of its expansion upon prime agricultural land. The Chinese Government took issue with the move: China's Ministry of Land and Resources fined BYD 2.95 million yuan ($442,000) and confiscated the 121 acres of land. It appears the new BYD plant will not grow very fast on land in the city of Xian.
In June 2011, Build Your Dreams launched an IPO in China. The offering pulled in 1.42 billion yuan, or $219 million US. However, the target was 2.21 billion yuan, or $328 million US. Lower share sales were attributed to a weak market, and increased automaker competition among Chinese carmakers.
2011 sales are down. BYD sales from years previous is off by some 44%. The slump is attributed to slumping sales in the automotive and solar panel divisions of BYD.
