BYD says to sell more than 400,000 vehicles in '09

Shanghai, August 31 (Gasgoo.com) BYD Co., the Chinese car and rechargeable battery maker backed by Warren Buffett, will exceed its target for vehicle sales of 400,000 vehicles in 2009, to double last year's figure, Bloomberg reported today, citing the company's CEO Wang Chuanfu.

Wang, also chairman of BYD, said today that the Shenzhen-based company plans to start selling an electric vehicle in the U.S. next year. The automaker launched the F3DM, the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid car, last December, and is set to sell it to individual customers as well starting next month.

Sales of BYD cars surged after the company added models including the F3-R compact, and the government cut taxes to 5% on small cars to boost demand. BYD boosted first-half vehicle sales to 176,814 units, outpacing a 26% gain in nationwide passenger-car sales. Its revenue from the auto business more than doubled to 8.88 billion yuan ($1.3 billion).

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a unit of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., completed the acquisition of a HK$1.8 billion ($230 million) stake in BYD last month. The U.S. company has made more than $1 billion from the investment. The tie-up with Buffett may help boost BYD's profile overseas and reassure potential customers.  

BYD is also expanding its auto business into electric bus making, with its bus plant in Changsha city to operate later this year, and the company has recently signed a contract with SAIC to supply lithium batteries to the Chinese auto giant.