Yang Rong, a Chinese automobile tycoon who fled the country after being accused of economic crimes, said he plans three multi-billion-dollar U.S. plants to make 3 million clean-technology vehicles per year by 2017.
The former chairman of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, BMW's partner in China, also said he was seeking investors for a 60 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) project in China to make 6 million clean-tech engines, half for use in his U.S. plants, and 3 million vehicles a year.
"I'm good at two things: one is using investments to make cars and the other is using cars to make money," a confident Yang told Reuters an interview from his home in Los Angeles on Friday.
Yang, now chairman of a tiny firm called Far East Golden Resources Group, said he had developed a powerful 1.5-liter hybrid engine that could be used in all manner of vehicles and could deliver a fuel performance of 50 miles per gallon.
The engine, which he called the first of its kind in the world, is natural gas-based and can also be powered by gasoline and electricity, said Yang, whom Forbes ranked as China's third-richest man in 2001.
Other carmakers, including Toyota Motor, General Motors, Ford Motor, BYD Co, are racing to develop electric and hybrid cars as the U.S. and other governments set tough fuel economy and emissions standards.
Analysts expressed caution, however. The greenfield project depends on unproven technology and is being launched in one of the world's most competitive automotive markets.
It is also unclear whether the level of fuel economy achieved in a laboratory can be applied in mass production.
"I wouldn't take his word seriously as he has no proof that the technology he claims to have mastered can be used in mass production," said Boni Sa, an analyst with CSM Worldwide, a global industry consultancy.
HURDLES
Yang, who is also called Yeung Yung, was at one time China's most influential carmaker, helping transform Brilliance from a stagnant state-owned auto factory into the country's top maker of mini-vans.
He fled China in 2002 after being accused of economic crimes. An arrest order was later approved by the government of the northeastern province of Liaoning, where Brilliance is based.
