source: Gasgoo.comJanuary 28, 2008 – China’s private automaker BYD plans to launch four models and sell 200,000 vehicles in Chinese market this year.
"Our goal is to sell 200,000 vehicles this year,” the company’s spokesperson Wang Jianjun said last week. “We plan to sell 150,000 F3 vehicles, 25,000 F6 and 25,000 F1 vehicles this year.”
F1, F6, F8 and F6 DM are four new models to be launched in Chinese market this year, Wang said.
F6 is powered by either a 2.0 liter BYD483QB engine or a 2.4 Mitsubishi 4G69liter engine. FYD dealerships have started to accept booking orders for this vehicle in January. It is priced 105,800 yuan to 135,800 yuan. The model is expected to be launched in March.
F1 is a small displacement sedan powered by a 1.0 liter BYD371QA. It meets EU-IV emission standards. The vehicle is priced between 30,000 yuan ($4,138) to 50,000 yuan ($6,900). The model will be delivered in April.
F8 has an electronic controlled sunroof. The vehicle is equipped with ABS and EBD systems. It has four airbags. The car will be launched in June and will be priced at about 200,000 yuan ($27,586).
F6DM is powered by a BYD iron battery pack and a gas engine. It will be 20,000 yuan higher than F6 vehicle.
source: Gasgoo.comFebruary 22, 2008 - BYD Auto, the Shenzhen-based Chinese auto maker, held an opening ceremony for a R&D center in Shenzhen yesterday. Meanwhile, the automaker also started production of an engine model it developed on its own efforts in the same day.
The new center will be used to test core components for BYD's electric vehicle, the company said on its website. Last month, BYD displayed a hybrid-electric F6 sedan in Detroit, which is due to hit the Chinese market in small volume by the end of this year.
Prior to this center, BYD operates another one in Shanghai.
Founded in 1995, BYD group is now the world's largest cell-phone battery maker. In 2003, the company branched out to automobile manufacturing businessby acquiring a now defunct Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile Co. and Beijing Jichi Motor Dies Co.
Earlier this month, BYD Auto unveiled a target to sell 200,000 vehicles in China this year, doubling its sales record last year.
source: Gasgoo.comApril 3, 2008 - A recent report on the annual achievement of the BYD stock (1211.HK) indicates that by the end of December 2007, BYD Auto's turnover had risen by 63.9% to RMB 21.211 billion ($3.02 billion) and the net profit had also risen by 44.2% to RMB 1.612 billion. The net profit of its automobile business is about RMB 257 million, up 122% over last year.
On March 25, the BYD stock rose by 10% to 13.92 HK dollars thanks to the carmaker’s good achievement. Sources from BYD also indicate that the group hopes to return to mainland China’s A share market in a short time. Thus it can create a capital scale with its 3 listed companies, and the total market value will be approaching RMB 100 billion in the future.
Industry figures show that BYD sold 101,000 vehicles in the whole year of 2007, up about 100% over 2006. Along with the promotion of BYD auto market status, the demand also is increasing day by day. BYD urgently needs to expand and enhance its automobile business, and the remarkable performance of the capital stock market strengthened “the blood transfusion” ability of its auto sector.
Xia Zhibing, general manager of the BYD auto sales company, says the company is fully prepared to achieve the 100% sales growth goal by selling 200,000 vehicles in 2008. This year BYD will still dedicate itself to exploring the market for vehicles below 2.4L displacement, and newly-launched F6 will also occupy 10% of the market.
F6 carries on F3’s “subversive” fixed price strategy, with its price reduced to RMB 89,800 -- RMB 159,800. Compared to joint-venture brands’ price strategy (they habitually fixed high price at the beginning and then gradually drop the price), F6 obviously has competitive advantage thanks to its accurate fixed price.
Xia Zhibing says at last that BYD stock is expected to return to the A share market in the first half of this year. He notes that the BYD cash flow is healthy, and this time its return to the A-share market also suggests the company's hope that the Chinese auto market can share the growth of BYD's automobile business.
October 31, 2008 - An insider for Chinese carmaker BYD Auto said that the company has specified its plans for 2009 production and sales, which include the production of three new models and the self-developed DM (Dual Mode) electric vehicles, and the target of doubling its sales to 400,000 vehicles in the year, said xinhuanet.com today.
The three new models are BYD F8, BYD M6 and BYD S6. The BYD F8 is claimed to be China's first hard-top convertible sports coupe and will go on sale in the first quarter of 2009; the BYD S6 is a large SUV model based on a mid-class car chassis; and the BYD M6 is a medium- to large-size MPV model also based on a mid-class car chassis. BYD said its M6 and S6 are all-new in-house developed models, not derived from its F6 model.
BYD has also announced its plan for the DM (Dual Mode) electric models. Based on its strength in ferrous battery and clean eco-friendly power-train technologies, BYD has recently attracted the investment from U.S. energy giant Buffett in exploring the electric vehicle market. BYD will apply it DM system to the production of all its vehicles. The BYD F3DM will be launched in December this year while the BYD F0DM and BYD F6DM will go on sale in 2009.
The insider said that BYD will be easily fulfilling its 2008 sales goal of 200,000 units and has planned to double the yearly sales to 400,000 vehicles in 2009. This ambitious target is expected to help BYD overtake Geely Auto and become the second largest independent Chinese automaker by annual sales after Chery Auto.
BYD designed its own batteries that power the DM electric vehicles instead of contracting the power system out like most automakers. The proprietary batteries use lithium-ion iron phosphate. BYD states these batteries will last 600,000 km or 10 years before they will need to be replaced.