China Invades Europe, Again

Cammy Corrigan
by Cammy Corrigan

Even since Landwind crash test, and the Brilliance crash test, the reputation of Chinese cars in Europe has been a little, shall we say, challenging. Watching the bonnet of a car crumble like Professor Gilbert’s theory on Toyota’s UA tofu does have its effect on prospective customers.

But none of this seems to worry BYD. Europe is their next target. Autocar reports that BYD, the maker of China’s biggest selling car, the F3, will be coming to Europe in 2011. Not with their bestselling F3, but with a pure electric E6. The car was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show.

The car is planned to be powered by a 101bhp electric motor, with 332lb ft of torque, linked up to BYD’s own lithium ion batteries. The 0-62mph time will be 14 seconds (so, best not try to out-drag that Ford Focus ST sitting next to you at the traffic lights) and have a top speed of 87mph (So, no trips to the Nürburgring Nordschleife). It will, however, (according to BYD) do 200 miles on a single charge. UK customers can also look forward to BYD’s F3DM, a small saloon which was the world’s first plug-in hybrid. It uses lithium phosphate batteries and has an electric range of 60 miles. All this sounds good, but what are the safety ratings going to be on these cars? Well, they must pass European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA), and tofumobiles stand no chance in Europe. Here, they check before admitting the car.

Cammy Corrigan
Cammy Corrigan

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  • Tricky Dicky Tricky Dicky on Mar 08, 2010

    Some very interesting insights on BYD's business practices, plus the reliability of performance figures related to the E6 here: http://www.chinacartimes.com/2010/02/11/the-%E2%80%98truth-about-byd-replication-cost-cutting-and-car-production/

  • Philadlj Philadlj on Mar 08, 2010

    The EU could always pull a "Tengzhong"...choking BYD in red tape indefinitely, preventing it from going on sale. Heck, if China's government can dictate the composition of its automotive industry, why can't the Euros?

  • Martin Schwoerer Martin Schwoerer on Mar 08, 2010

    I saw the E6 in Geneva, and couldn't at all fathom why it had to have a third-world interior. I'm talking about super-cheap and super-unattractive. Like, not just hard plastics, but *really shiny* hard plastics. This is on the level of car manufacturing in Uzbekistan, not Malaysia. The battery technology might be first-class (who knows at this point?) but the rest of the product has an untrustworthy aura, if you asked me.

  • Mr Carpenter Mr Carpenter on Mar 08, 2010

    So, Martin, one has to wonder if Chrysler will be buying these and selling them as Dodge Electro-Journey MPV's, then, given that the average Chrysler/Dodge/"Ram"/Jeep dealer is pretty used to such plastic on interiors!!!

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