BYD Closes 100 Dealers, Can't Meet Sales Goal

Chinese carmaker BYD, once dreaming to become the world's number one carmaker, is now forced to eliminate 100 dealers because it couldn't meet the sales goal it has imposed for 2010. Last year, the company wanted to deliver a total of 800,000 vehicles but, when it finally noticed that such a milestone is very hard to achieve, it reduced the overall expected performance to 600,000 units.

The result? BYD sold only 520,000 cars and understood that boosting the number of dealership wasn't the smartest solution to increase sales. It now estimates that 2011 will raise deliveries a little bit, but predicts only a minor 10 percent growth to 550,000 cars.

BYD on the other hand seems to be more concerned with its plans to grow bigger in the United States, as the company attended the 2011 North American International Auto Show to show the local public what it is up to. The e6 electric, which is likely to go on sale in 2012 if everything goes well, will wear a price tag of $35,000 and will present several modifications to be more attractive to American buyers than to their Chinese counterparts.

The e6 is able to offer a maximum autonomy of 200 miles (321 km), much more than the Japanese car and more fuel efficient than the American one. Power for the vehicle comes from a 60-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack which can be recharged in six hours, a time which is lower than the industry average.

For more information on BYD's display at the 2011 NAIAS, as well as for some live shots with the e6, you can follow this link.