BYD has a long way off to commercialize world's first DM electric car

The chances of the world's first compact battery operated sedan seem still a long way off. The new-style vehicle, named F3DM and produced by Shenzhen-based BYD Auto, has sold only 80 units since its launch last December.

Auto Biz Review said that 20 of the vehicles were purchased by the Shenzhen government, with the remainder in use by China Construction Bank's Shenzhen branch. Further group orders did not follow on as expected.

Efforts were also made to use them in the cities taxi fleet but it is rumored that talks surrounding that deal have stalled as a result of its high prices, which amounts to US$21,917.

Cheaper prices are in fact expected as BYD plans to lower its cost through producing a larger number of dual mode vehicles. Wang Chuanfu says it's possible the car will cost only 109,800 yuan by then, a competitive price for individual buyers. But nobody knows when.

Another hurdle to overcome, Wang believes, is the lack of charging stations, of which only a handful currently exist. Also more efforts are needed to improve battery performance and other techniques to make the car commercially viable.

But anyway the launch of the BYD F3DM is an undeniable encouragement for automakers to install greener technologies under the hood and will accelerate the development of supporting facilities in a row.

BYD Auto launched F3DM on December 15, 2008 and since then, only 80 units
cars were sold.