China's carmakers are becoming regular fixtures at international auto shows, and China's BYD Auto Inc. is back in Detroit for the second year in a row.
BYD, which stands for "Build Your Dreams," is displaying its e6 battery-powered electric sedan at the North American International Auto Show this week and hopes to sell it in the U.S. later this year.
BYD is one of China's most ambitious carmakers, proclaiming at last week's show preview for media that it aimed to become China's No. 1 automaker by 2015 -- and the world's biggest by 2025.
Some auto analysts scoff at China's fledgling carmakers, their lofty goals and wonky cars. An executive with a German automaker quipped that BYD really stands for "Beyond Your Dreams."
But others caution that while Chinese automakers may stumble at the outset, as the Koreans and Japanese before them did, they will become serious global competitors -- and sooner, rather than later.
Wilbur Ross, a financier who heads his own company, W.L. Ross & Co., recalled that Toyota Motor Corp. sold only 288 cars in its first year in the U.S. market. "Look where it is now," he said.
"China will achieve a major penetration here and everywhere else once it gets going," Ross said.
About half a dozen Chinese automakers, including Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., BYD Auto, Geely Automobile Holdings and Chery Automobile, have the ambition and potential to develop the capabilities to produce vehicles that can be sold anywhere in the world, analysts say.
This year, BYD is the only Chinese carmaker staging a full display at the Detroit show.
Many industry and financial experts view it as one of China's most promising contenders. In 2008, U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett invested $232 million in BYD, taking a 10 percent stake.
BYD is a newcomer to the car business -- and it doesn't look like a threat to the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. today. But Michael Dunne, president of Hong Kong-based Dunne & Co., notes BYD already competes successfully on the international stage as a manufacturer of laptop and cell phone batteries.
BYD branched out into car making in 2004, and has expanded quickly, selling 450,000 vehicles last year. Its technology has attracted high-level attention: In 2009, Germany's Volkswagen AG said it was exploring cooperation with BYD in battery technology.
Although some other Chinese carmakers did not return this year to the Detroit show, that's not because their industry is retrenching.
Analysts say some Chinese automakers are adjusting their strategies, either to focus on their surging domestic market or to improve their capabilities by acquiring brands from cash-squeezed global automakers.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, owner of Geely Automobile, is in talks to acquire Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo Car Corp. A final agreement is expected to be concluded during this quarter.
Chinese manufacturers also are dealing with surging demand in their home market, which became the world's largest in 2009.
According to official figures, 13.6 million vehicles -- including 10.3 million passenger cars -- were sold in China last year.
Kevin Wale, president of General Motors Co.'s GM China, said China's market was expected to nearly double in size during the next decade, adding another 13 million vehicles.
But he and other industry experts still expect China to become a major vehicle exporter.
"China will compete in global markets," Wale said. "It's not a question of if, but when."
Longtime auto analyst and author Maryann Keller, head of Maryann Keller & Associates in Stamford, Conn., said one of the driving forces behind China's export push was the huge production capacity already in place. "China has excess capacity in just about everything, including cars."
Another driver is the Chinese government's aim to generate jobs and foster stability, Ross said. "China is all about job creation."
