BYD Is Coming To America - Honestly Now
It’s the fourth time that China’s BYD shows up at NAIAS. Every time, they announced an impending arrival at American shores. Which did not happen. Now BYD – cross my heart and hope to stay alive – BYD promises that they will really, honestly enter the U.S. en mass in spring of 2012, Reuters reports. Well, about time, because the luster is coming off BYD.
BYD brought a whole department store of stuff to NAIAS. The e6 and S6DM cars are accompanied by solar panels and home energy storage units.
BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu said they don’t know in which U.S. cities and states they will set up dealerships. For a 2012 spring launch, he needs to slowly make up his mind. He thinks he will introduce the pure plug-in e6 first, followed by the S6DM hybrid, and possibly electric buses.
When BYD finally gets around to selling something here, they will have to duke it out with a phalanx of other makers: Nissan and Tesla already have electric product, in 2012, they will be joined by Toyota, Honda, and Ford.
BYD thinks their e6 will cost $42,000 when it is finally available. That’s a lot of money for a Chinese car that has to share a narrow market with a lot of big players.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Gotta hand it to BYD for being consistent. Every year they tell us that they plan to invade the U.S. market in just over a year.
People laughed at the Koreans once upon a time too. Although honestly I won't believe any of these vehicles until I see them and then I won't dream of driving or riding in one till I see the numbers from the North American crash tests.
Acubra wrote: "I honestly do not see how same dramatic progress could happen with the Chinese, unless they employ Western management, design and engineering companies." And that's exactly what they're doing. That's why in order to gain access to the Chinese market, Western automakers are required to have a Chinese industrial partner. The Western companies are teaching the Chinese how to compete with us. The same thing is happening in aerospace. Meanwhile, the Chinese continue to steal designs and technology. Witness the latest industrial espionage story surrounding Renault.
Sixty years ago, the Japanese were doing joint ventures with foreign companies and learning from them. Nissans (Datsuns) were license made Austins (UK). Hinos were license made Renaults. Isuzus were license made Hillmans (Rootes Group, UK). The Toyota Land Cruiser engine was a virtual (unlicensed) copy of the Chevrolet stove-bolt six. Within twenty years, the Japanese had started designing their own cars. Within twenty more years, they were world-class competitors. The South Koreans began building licensed cars from foreign designs 40 years ago. Hyundai built Ford Cortinas (and later, Hyundai designs). The predecessor company to GM Daewoo built Opels and Hondas. Kia built Mazdas and Kaiser Jeep military trucks including the troublesome OHC six designed in the early 1960's by Sammy Sampientro for Kaiser. Ssangyong's predecessor company built Mercedes clones on license (and still uses their engine tech). Within ten years, the South Koreans were designing (and exporting) some of their own cars. Within ten years more, they were competitive if not yet first class. The Chinese will cut this time in half again. I predict. Or not. (My cousin, who is somewhat older than I, has actual experience working with the Taiwanese Chinese - the company at which he worked 20 years ago set up the Taiwanese with an auto glass factory and he says they simply were "unable" to learn simple production quality tasks). Actually, now that I think about it and consider the horrible quality of almost everything Chinese (most especially Red Chinese not so much Taiwanese), I suspect that the Chinese automotive "take over" will more resemble Russia's efforts to export Ladas. I am going to say my prediction of Chinese success is rescinded and my cousin's realization of Chinese "quality" will make it nothing more than a massive money losing proposition for any dealer which decides to try to sell any Red Chinese vehicle in this country. As has proven to be the case in Western Europe.