BYD aims to lead alternative energy car sector

China's BYD Auto said Monday it is in talks to sell its battery products to overseas automakers as part of a bid to take a lead in the alternative energy vehicle sector.

The firm is also in discussions with foreign governments regarding electric car projects, said Henry Z. Li, general manager of BYD Auto's export division.

"We are in talks with a number of foreign companies. We will supply the partner with our battery products in the cooperation, but we are not selling the technology," Li told AFP in an interview during the Shanghai Auto Show.

Li said although the market in new energy vehicles was yet to take off due to the lack of a large-scale battery recharging network or sufficient government subsidies, the firm is confident it can make a difference.

BYD Auto is part of the BYD group, a Hong Kong-listed firm partially owned by US investment guru Warren Buffett. BYD stands for "build your dream".

"Electric vehicles are an opportunity. The issue is how we can seize the opportunity and bring our advantage into play," Li said.

"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."

BYD Auto beat other products, such as General Motors' Volt, when it launched F3DM, a plug-in hybrid, in China late last year. The company has said earlier the hybrid car is scheduled to go on sale in the United States and Europe in 2011.

It plans to begin delivering on the E6, a pure electric car, later this year.

The company aims to double its sales to 400,000 in 2009 and launch five new models this year.

General Motors Asia Pacific president Nick Reilly, however, expressed reservations about the current level of technology being offered by BYD and other Chinese car makers, such as Chery.

"I think we ought to be very serious about considering Chinese companies as potential competitors in battery and electric vehicles," Reilly told a news briefing.

"But from what we've seen so far the technology is not that advanced in terms of things like battery life, range and recharging."

However, he said the technology could spread quickly, especially if backed by the right government incentives.

"China may be the country that leads the switch to electric vehicles because there is a significant need in Chinese cities for small electric vehicles... you could see growth quite fast, maybe faster than other places in the world," he told reporters.