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China's New-Energy Vehicle
Cover Stories Series 2011> China's New-Energy Vehicle
UPDATED: November 18, 2010 NO. 46 NOVEMBER 18, 2010
BYD: Building a Greener Tomorrow
BYD expands its green empire with new batteries, eco-friendly tech, and electric cars for public and private use
By DING WENLEI
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CHARGING IS THE PROBLEM: A charging station is located at the BYD headquarters for its employees' electric sedans. Unavailability of charging facilities and comparatively high prices have prevented electric vehicles from mass market adoption (JING XIAOLEI)

Battery expertise, the root of the company's success, is where the company truly excels—BYD boasts a plethora of power storage solutions for renewable energies and is in the process of delivering the world's first megawatt-level, environmentally friendly Fe battery storage stations for commercial use. The energy storage station as a smart grid solution stores power by charging the battery pack during low power demand periods to balance power loads. Moreover, it can address power generation instability for solar and wind power that is dependent on weather and environmental conditions.

On September 14, BYD signed an agreement with Los Angeles city officials to work with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to create an electricity storage station at a wind farm in the Tehachapi Mountains northwest of the city. In the same month, BYD also signed contracts for its megawatt-level energy storage stations (ESS).

But nowhere are BYD's batteries more visible and useful than in its electric vehicle models. The company's k6 bus model, seven-seat M6 business model and five-seat e6 passenger model are crucial components in BYD's green city blueprint. The models are proudly displayed at the technology museum in its Shenzhen headquarters. These vehicles can be recharged at permanent charging stations, movable power storage stations or in one's own garage.

"Technology is advancing much faster than we could have ever imagined. If a company falls too far behind, it'll be left with no choice but to close down," said Lin Mi, Manager of the Marketing Department of BYD's Auto Export Trade Division.

The electric vehicle industry "is about to snowball, heading for mass market adoption and effective cost cuts," and companies that reap the benefits will be the ones who "give it a push, turning the fluid friction into the rolling friction," Lin said.

Central supporter

Unlike other compact EV models, such as Chevrolet's Volt and Nissan's Leaf, which are marketed for average consumers, BYD's long-range electric vehicles are geared to city use by government departments, utility companies and taxi services—in other words, buyers with deep pockets.

After the debut of its F3DM, the world's first plug-in hybrid for commercial use, in December 2008, BYD barely sold 100 units, and those were for institutional or corporate customers. The dual-mode F3DM can travel 100 km (62 miles) on a single charge and another 300 km (190 miles) with a 1.0-liter engine as a range extender.

The high price of the F3DM, more than double that of its gasoline counterpart F3, puts it out of most consumers' reach. Also, charging the battery to full capacity takes 6-7 hours, although a quick charge of half the Fe battery can be done in 10 minutes, requiring a garage for over-night plug-ins, which most Chinese don't have, or recharging facilities, which are too few in number to be effective.

FUTURE VILLAGE: The two-villa complex at BYD's Pingshan headquarters is a zero-emission model for independent electricity production and storage, a direction for BYD's new energy business (JING XIAOLEI)

This June, the Central Government started subsidizing purchases of hybrid and all-electric vehicles, and Shenzhen was the first to offer further green incentives. With a subsidy of 50,000 yuan ($7,462.7) from the Central Government and 30,000 yuan ($4,477.6) from the Shenzhen Municipal Government, individual purchasers in Shenzhen have driven home an updated version of the F3DM for 89,800 yuan ($13,403). The updated F3DM features a solar panel charging system on the sunroof.

BYD authorized 30 new F3DM dealers at the September 27 ceremony to speed up the vehicle's promotion nationwide.

Based on the successful operation of Shenzhen's taxi fleet of 50 e6s, BYD will provide another 50 by the end of this year. The city government also plans to eventually replace one fifth of its taxi fleet, or roughly 2,000 vehicles, with e6 models, Lin said.

"If the country replaces all its 1.2 million taxis with emission-free electric cars, it will help save one third of its annual vehicle emissions," said Lin. "Also, taxis are great for use in public education campaigns for electric cars. And you can bet that Shenzhen residents in general now know much more about electric vehicles than Beijing residents do."

Electric buses will also play a crucial role in Shenzhen's conversion to green modes of public transportation.

On September 30, BYD officially unveiled its first all-electric bus model, the K9, and signed a contract with the Hunan Provincial Government to provide 1,000 K9s for the latter's public transportation. Like the new F3DM, the K9 also features a large solar system on its roof.

Cars for the people

In the short term, BYD will stick to selling dual-model cars to individual purchasers and pure electric vehicles to institutional clients, as power grid companies have yet to build an adequate recharging network and electricity storage stations, Lin said.

"China's major grid companies are considering two recharging solutions: either cooperation initiatives with residential property management companies to build recharging facilities at parking lots, or encouraging operators of office buildings to have recharging stations," said Lin. "We have to allow both schemes to develop, because night-time electricity is much cheaper than day-time electricity in China."

Up to now, Shenzhen residents have purchased 108 new energy vehicles. Almost 340 hybrid buses, 55 all-electric taxis and 20 official sedans are in service in the city. By the end of 2010, some 6,900 charging stations or related equipment will be installed to cover 28 residential communities and 30 governmental buildings and commercial parking lots.

BYD's cooperation with Mercedes-Benz offers another endorsement for its manufacturing prowess.

"In the 50-50 joint venture, BYD researchers are offering all technologies for the 'heart' part—the electrical control system, the electric machine and battery—while Mercedes-Benz takes care of the body and design work, " said Lin.

"The model, which targets the mid-to-high segment of China's passenger car market, will very likely roll off BYD's production line in three to five years," Lin said. "BYD will start marketing campaigns for this one, too."

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