Lithium and REE: BYD wins backing to make e6 TNR.v, CZX.v, WLC.v, LI.v, RM.v, LMR.v, SQM, FMC, BYDDY, AVL.to, RES.v, QUC.v, CCE.v, NSANY, RNO, TTM, TM

"BYD claims the longest range available on the market for the road ready EV with 205 miles. Time will tell very soon whether we can trust this spec. There will be issues with safety testing in US and auto brand recognition, but we think the price will cure a lot of initial market problems and this car will take market by the storm. Whether BYD will be able to make money out of electric cars we are not sure and think that margins will be sacrificed for market penetration in the West and the real driving force will be a conventional vehicles booming sales in China. This scenario will be very positive for our Next Big Thing - price competition in EV space will make electric cars affordable and bring our mass market sooner rather than later with an explosive growth in Lithium and REE Demand."

We have a very good mix for publicity of Electric Cars: Warren Buffett, richest man in China - founder of BYD and China with largest auto market in the world from 2009. BYD aim at competition with GM Volt pricing its car at USD40,000 - is our prediction about price war and razor thin margins already in play? Now we should see the pricing move for GM Volt - will it be below USD40,000 in the end?

BYD wins backing to make e6
English.news.cn 2010-01-19 09:18:18

BEIJING, Jan. 19 -- New-energy vehicle and battery manufacturer BYD Automobile Co said Monday that it has won approval to produce the e6, its first pure electric car, in the country.
A BYD official said the e6 accelerated the auto maker's new-energy vehicle strategy and will help domestic car makers compete against international rivals.
BYD Auto's e6 is presented during the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) at Cobo center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., Jan 11, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)
China-based BYD, backed by billionaire Warren Buffet, will launch the plug-in e6 sedan in China in the first half of this year for about 300,000 yuan (43,988 U.S. dollars), mainly supplying government, public services and taxi fleets. BYD also plans to sell the e6 in the United States at the end of this year with a price tag of about 40,000 dollars.
With government support, hybrid and electric vehicles are becoming an industry trend as consumers seek ways to reduce emissions to protect the environment. Demand for such vehicles has prompted car makers to increase investment and speed up engineering in the field.
General Motors plans to launch its extended-range electric car Volt in the US this year before introducing it to China in 2011. Nissan plans to launch its Leaf plug-in electric car in 2012.
BYD said the e6 is a sedan powered by a lithium iron phosphate battery.
The car promises a battery-only range of 330 kilometers on a single charge. The battery can be quick-charged to 50 percent of capacity in 10 minutes, and fully charged in 60 minutes.
Aside from intensifying competition, car makers also face challenges convincing consumers about the benefits of new-energy vehicles as some people worry about inconvenience due to the lack of charging stations.
Auto makers also face issues over heavy batteries, which reduce the efficiency of electric cars, and recycling batteries.
Wang Chuanfu, chairman of BYD, said recently that the car maker is aiming to become the world's largest auto maker by 2025. Last year, BYD saw sales jump 130 percent to 400,000 vehicles. It set a sales target of 800,000 units this year.
At the ongoing Detroit auto show, BYD was the only Chinese car maker to attend. Its lineup also included the F3DM, the world's first dual-mode plug-in hybrid.
Besides BYD's e6, the new-energy vehicles the government approved included Dongfeng's Fengshen S30 and Changan's Zhixiang.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)"