BYD Auto

BYD Auto
比亚迪汽车

Type	Subsidiary of BYD Company:SEHK: 1211
Founded	2003
Headquarters	Shenzhen, Guangdong, China Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Key people	Wang Chuanfu, Chairman
Industry	Automotive
Products	Automotive goods
Parent	BYD Company Limited
Website	www.byd.com

BYD Auto (simplified Chinese: 比亚迪汽车; Pinyin: Bǐyàdí Qìchē) is a Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. The firm was founded in 2003 and it is a part of the rechargeable battery maker/IT company, BYD Co Ltd.

In December 2008, BYD Auto began selling the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle, and plans to mass produce affordable electric vehicles in the near future.

History

BYD Co Ltd created the wholly-owned subsidiary BYD Auto a year after its 2002 acquisition of the Tsinchuan Automobile Company.^[1]

BYD produces nearly all of the components used in its vehicles, from the air conditioning units to the engines.^[2] This is in contrast to many American, Japanese and European auto manufacturers,^[2] which normally outsource a great deal of the components used in their vehicles, performing final assembly at their own factories.

In 2006 BYD began to export its vehicles to foreign countries^[3] and as of 2009 BYD exports its cars to Africa, South America and the Middle East.^[2] The company has plans to enter the European and Israeli markets,^[4] and hopes to sell vehicles in the United States, too.^[5]

Production bases

Production bases include an automobile assembly base in Xi'an, a module manufacturing plant in Beijing, a R&D center and nascent automobile assembly base in Shenzhen and a R&D center in Shanghai.^[1]

In the media

• BYD Auto was featured on the cover of Fortune magazine on April 13, 2009.^[2]
• CNN segment TalkAsia interviewed chairman Wang Chuanfu on April 22, 2009, and became the first members of the media to test drive BYD's electric car.^[6]
• BYD Co Ltd, the parent company of BYD Auto, was mentioned in the 2008 book Globality, written by the Boston Consulting Group.^[7]

Look-a-like models

Many Chinese auto manufacturers' cars ape those of foreign automakers^[8][9] and some BYD cars seem to copy those of many brands including Lexus,^[10] Toyota,^[11][12] Honda,^[13] Mercedes Benz,^[14][15][16] and Porsche.^[17] For example, the BYD F8 convertible bears great similarity to the Mercedes CLK from the front, and the Renault Megane CC or third generation Chrysler Sebring convertible from the rear.^[18]

It is also interesting to note that BYD Auto's previous logo, shown here, bore a striking resemblance to that of BMW's.

See also

• BYD Co Ltd
• BYD Flyer (Discontinued)
• BYD F0
• BYD F3DM
• BYD e6 (A All-electric MPV)
• BYD F6DM
• Chinese automakers

References

External links

• BYD Auto's official site (English)
• BYD Auto's official site (Chinese)
• Invest in Longgang, Shenzhen - BYD Auto Co., Ltd.
• BYD Electric Cars blog.

Companies portal