A lot of exciting news has happened regarding corporate partnerships and alliances over the past week or so. Volkswagen and BYD, Daimler and Tesla, and others. Car makers are entering the new era of auto manufacturing by taking a lesson from the tech sector: you can’t do it all alone anymore.
Read More: BYD Gains VW As Partner, Ford May Follow - Other Partnerships Also In the Works
The all-electric BYD e6 crossover vehicle debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show today. It’s a step away from the usual designs BYD has offered so far. It includes the latest technology, which BYD’s CEO showcased a few days ago, with a 100% recyclable battery and can recharge to 50% in ten minutes.
Read More: Shanghai Auto Show: The BYD e6 Crossover Unveiled
OK, maybe not “like a frat boy,” exactly, but he did prove a point. Wang Chuan-Fu is the CEO of BYD and he made a point about the new generation of batteries–specifically liithium-ion ones: they’re non-toxic. He did this by drinking some of the electrolyte fluids from one of BYD’s cells.
The point was well made. Many li-ion batteries made today are made with non-toxic electrolytes and the trend is moving away from the toxic chemicals that used to make them up. If you’ll remember from a couple of years ago when a study showed that the Prius was actually more environmentally harmful to build than the Hummer? That was due to both the mining requirements for the battery cells as well as the toxic chemicals in them.
Read More: BYD’s CEO Guzzles Battery Fluid Like a Frat Boy…to prove a point
The BYD Dual Mode (aka range-extended hybrid) PHEV is not the sales phenomenon BYD had hoped for. Reports from China say that the F3DM launched in December and has so far sold only 80 units. Not good for the up-start carmaker.
Read More: Chinese BYD F3DM Not Selling Well in China
The Shanghai Auto Show is just around the corner - doors open on April 22nd - and news is already starting to filter out about some of the EV offerings due to be shown off at the show. One company who will be unveiling a new electric car product is Brilliance Auto, a Chinese auto manufacturer.
Read More: Brilliance Auto to Unveil new Electric Car at Shanghai Auto Show
Chery Motors in China has officially launched their new A5 BSG hybrid sedan. The former Chrysler partner debuted these cars at the Olympic games in Beijing, giving fifty of them to game officials to use.
Read More: Chinese Knockoff Hybrid: the Chery A5 BSG
Chinese plug-in hybrid maker BYD, maker of the recently-released F3DM Hybrid currently on sale in China, is reportedly considering leasing it’s technology to other car makers. Citing a report in China Knowledge Press, analysts at Global Insight have said that unnamed sources say that companies in the U.S., Europe and Japan have shown interest.
Read More: PHEV Maker BYD Considering Leasing It’s Technology
The Chinese company BYD, which we’ve covered before with their new BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid car, is making other moves to become the world’s leader in electric vehicle technology.
Already well-known for their battery technology, especially the Ni-MH batteries used in cell phones and laptops, BYD has announced that they will be releasing two new electric car drive trains featuring their new Fe-battery technology.
Read More: BYD Moving Into Leadership Position In Electric Vehicle Technology
Without any explanation, the BYD company in China, which released the F3DM plug-in hybrid to Chinese customers a couple of weeks ago, has no announced that they will be waiting an extra year to release the car to North America. So you won’t see the F3DM that Warren Buffet owns 10% of until 2011.
Read More: BYD Changes Date For U.S. Release of F3DM
Well, it’s the end of the year, so it’s time for everyone to start rolling out their favorites lists and summing up what they saw during the year. This is our top five favorite electric cars that are either on the market or will be before 2010.
Read More: Our Top 5 Electric Cars of 2008
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