GM is importing China made Buick to US, and Chinese companies are coming soon. First will be BYD.
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The Chinese automaker that sold more electric cars(in China) last year than Tesla, Nissan or GM is taking a back road into the American market on a battery-powered bus.
Detouring around the cost and risk of consumer sales, BYD Co. has quietly built a U.S. business supplying rechargeable buses to environmentally-minded transit agencies. Its factory north of Los Angeles, opened in 2013, is on track to deliver 300 this year.
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The company has dipped its toe into the U.S. auto market by launching test fleets of plug-in electric taxis in Chicago and New York City.
Consumer sales are coming but BYD has yet to decide when, said Michael Austin, its vice president for the United States. He said it might start developing a sales network in the next two years.
"We have the manufacturing scale that can drive the cost to a point where we can bring vehicles to export markets including the United States, Latin America and Europe that will be game-changing," said Austin at BYD's headquarters in this southern city adjacent to Hong Kong.
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"I have no doubt BYD eventually can crack the market in Europe or the U.S.," said Cosmin Laslau, who follows the electric vehicle market for Lux Research in Boston.
It might take five to 10 years to achieve an "equal footing" with GM, Nissan or Tesla, "but it's surely doable if we look sufficiently far out," Laslau said.
"By deploying these buses first (in the United States), BYD can get an early lesson in how its batteries fare," he said. "And if they are successful, they can point to that and say the battery you are going to get in your electric vehicle has already done a half-million miles in buses."
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To reach American consumers, BYD will need to "bring something new to the table," said Laslau. He said a newcomer might target budget-minded buyers with a model priced under $35,000 with a range of at least 200 miles (320 kilometers) on a charge.
Austin said BYD can meet that today but thinks the price has to be even lower — below $30,000.
"We're not a toy for the rich," he said. "We're going after the mass market. And if you are delivering that, you have to be cost-competitive."
http://newsok.com/chinese-electric-car-maker-enters-us-market-by-selling-buses/article/feed/1000893
Quote:
The Chinese automaker that sold more electric cars(in China) last year than Tesla, Nissan or GM is taking a back road into the American market on a battery-powered bus.
Detouring around the cost and risk of consumer sales, BYD Co. has quietly built a U.S. business supplying rechargeable buses to environmentally-minded transit agencies. Its factory north of Los Angeles, opened in 2013, is on track to deliver 300 this year.
Quote:
The company has dipped its toe into the U.S. auto market by launching test fleets of plug-in electric taxis in Chicago and New York City.
Consumer sales are coming but BYD has yet to decide when, said Michael Austin, its vice president for the United States. He said it might start developing a sales network in the next two years.
"We have the manufacturing scale that can drive the cost to a point where we can bring vehicles to export markets including the United States, Latin America and Europe that will be game-changing," said Austin at BYD's headquarters in this southern city adjacent to Hong Kong.
Quote:
"I have no doubt BYD eventually can crack the market in Europe or the U.S.," said Cosmin Laslau, who follows the electric vehicle market for Lux Research in Boston.
It might take five to 10 years to achieve an "equal footing" with GM, Nissan or Tesla, "but it's surely doable if we look sufficiently far out," Laslau said.
"By deploying these buses first (in the United States), BYD can get an early lesson in how its batteries fare," he said. "And if they are successful, they can point to that and say the battery you are going to get in your electric vehicle has already done a half-million miles in buses."
Quote:
To reach American consumers, BYD will need to "bring something new to the table," said Laslau. He said a newcomer might target budget-minded buyers with a model priced under $35,000 with a range of at least 200 miles (320 kilometers) on a charge.
Austin said BYD can meet that today but thinks the price has to be even lower — below $30,000.
"We're not a toy for the rich," he said. "We're going after the mass market. And if you are delivering that, you have to be cost-competitive."
http://newsok.com/chinese-electric-car-maker-enters-us-market-by-selling-buses/article/feed/1000893
