Future Models - BYD Auto 2012 EV
Daimler teams up with Chinese giant
Electric conductor: The Chinese-made BYD e6 electric vehicle is set to be joined by another BYD battery-powered city car engineered jointly with Daimler and marketed under a new brand.
Mercedes-Benz hitches its EV wagon to China’s new powerhouse, BYD
12 March 2010
By RON HAMMERTON
GERMANY’S Daimler AG has joined forces with Chinese battery giant and fast-growing car-maker BYD Company to build an electric-vehicle (EV) for the Chinese market under a new, yet-to-be-named brand.
The joint venture pairs the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars with one of the world’s biggest rechargeable battery manufacturers – and maker of the world’s first mass-market plug-in hybrid car – paving the way for an explosion in EV volumes, which have been severely restricted by shortages of automotive-grade lithium batteries to date, as well as high battery production costs.
The technology rub-off might also help to drive mass sales of EVs in Australia, where BYD is a hot prospect to field an EV within two years.
Local importer Ateco Automotive is a likely contender to import BYD products, which in China include a plug-in hybrid small car, the ‘F3DM’, and the forthcoming all-electric five-seat ‘e6’ people-mover, which were both shown at this year’s Detroit motor show in January.
Ateco pioneered Chinese vehicles on the Australian market with the introduction of Great Wall Motors utes last year, and is preparing to launch another Chinese brand, Chery, in the third quarter of this year, around July or August.
From top: BYD F3DM, Smart ForTwo Electric Drive and Ateco Automotive managing director Ric Hull (bottom).
Ateco managing director Ric Hull told GoAuto today that the company was “not doing anything concrete with BYD at this stage”, but he also indicated the lines of communication were still open for potential collaboration, saying: “We keep in touch.”
Ateco’s governing director Neville Crichton told GoAuto last month that Ateco was likely to launch its first EV as early as 2011 – a timetable that Mr Hull confirmed, saying it “wouldn’t be a bad guess”.
But he said Great Wall Motors and Chery were also in the EV business – suggesting the pioneering Chinese-made EV for Australia might come from one of these two companies.
Daimler’s deal with BYD is just the latest strategic move to position itself as a world leader in EVs. Last May, it bought a 10 per cent stake in Tesla – America’s world-leading EV sportscar manufacturer – so it could access Tesla’s cutting-edge systems.
The new BYD/Daimler vehicle to be marketed under a separate brand in China will draw on Daimler’s expertise in EV architecture, honed in vehicles such as the recently launched Smart Electric Drive and forthcoming A-class EV, and BYD’s skills in lithium-ion batteries and EV powertrains.
Hong Kong-listed BYD – backed by the world’s third-richest man, US billionaire Warren Buffett, to the tune of $US230 million ($247m) in 2008 – started out in 1995 making rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, but branched out into car manufacturing in 2003 after it bought Tsinchuan Automobile Co Ltd with the intention of spreading its battery skills into EVs and hybrids.
Its automotive arm, BYD Auto Co Ltd, is now China’s fastest-growing car-maker, with sales jumping 160 per cent last year, to 450,000 vehicles. Its ambitious export plans reportedly include Australia within two years.
So far, it is exporting vehicles to Africa, the Middle East and South America, but as its Detroit presence reveals, it has its eyes on major western markets.
The ‘technology partnership’ between Daimler and BYD this week was announced jointly by Daimler chairman Dr Dieter Zetsche and BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu, who described the arrangement as a “win-win business model” and “a perfect match”.
The joint statement said Daimler and BYD intended to develop a new electric vehicle specific to the Chinese market.
“The vehicle will be marketed under a new brand jointly created and owned by Daimler and BYD,” the statement said.
“In addition, a common technology centre will be established in China to develop, design and test this electric vehicle.”
Dr Zetsche said the project would help Daimler push ahead as a global leader in electric mobility.
“Daimler’s know-how in electric-vehicle architecture and BYD’s excellence in battery technology and e-drive systems are a perfect match,” he said.
“This we will be able to participate in the potential growth of electric mobility in China, currently the largest auto market in the world.”
Potentially, the arrangement with BYD also opens the door to supplies of cheaper but advanced Chinese batteries for Daimler’s own European-made EVs and plug-in hybrids, helping it to carve out a large chunk of this market while others struggle to make meaningful volumes.
For BYD, the venture will expose its engineers and manufacturing operations to the practices of one of the world’s top motor manufacturers.
Mr Chuanfu said the technology partnership created a win-win business model with complementary competences.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to work together with Daimler, the inventor of the automobile,” he said.
Mr Chuangfu said Daimler and BYD would jointly accelerate the growth of electric mobility in China.
“Electric vehicles are especially well suited for urban driving,” he said. “With its many metropolitan areas, China has the potential to be among the world’s largest markets for zero-emissions vehicles.”
BYD, which stands for ‘build your dreams’, plans to sell 800,000 vehicles this year, before becoming China’s biggest car-maker in 2015 – and the world’s by 2025.
The company’s first all-electric car, the e6, is powered by a lithium-ferrous battery pack. The plug-in e6 is claimed to have an impressive 330km driving range, a 140km/h top speed and 0-100km/h acceleration of 14 seconds.
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