BYD to Launch All-Electric e6 in the US in 2010

BYD continues its expansion outside China, this time in the United States, one of the first countries to get the all-electric battery car as soon as next year. Chairman Wang Chuanfu told the WSJ that the company is now planning to use the money obtained from a share-sale in the domestic market to finance the US expansion which will mostly rely on the five-seat e6 all electric model.

However, the company only intends to test the market using "a few hundred" vehicles and analyze the feedback received from the very first customers to decide whether to launch a full range of products and delay the US launch. The car will come with a price tag of around $40,000 and will be offered through a limited number of US stores.

"In the beginning, our target customers are going to be government agencies, utilities and maybe some celebrities," Wang was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

Additionally, Wang revealed that BYD also plans to step into Europe in early 2011 but earlier reports indicated that Austrian car dealer Denzel plans to begin importing vehicles produced by BYD Auto from 2010.

"Electric vehicles are an opportunity. The issue is how we can seize the opportunity and bring our advantage into play. New energy vehicles will gain a bigger market share and we are riding the trend... I believe we will be able to make the division break even within five years," Henry Z. Li, general manager of BYD Auto's export division, said in April.

The e6 is an electric five-seat passenger model that needs seven to nine hours to fully recharge an entirely depleted battery.