BYD likely to focus on L.A. market for electric cars

BYD Co., the Chinese auto maker part-owned by one of Warren Buffett's companies, is likely to choose the Los Angeles area as the lead market for the electric car it plans to start selling in the U.S. late next year, a senior executive said.

BYD is also leaning toward choosing the West Coast metropolis as home to its U.S. headquarters for the auto business, Henry Li, a BYD senior director in charge of its auto business outside China, said in an interview Wednesday.

Mr. Li said an official decision hasn't been made, but the Los Angeles area is "at the top of the list." and is likely to be chosen. The region is attractive because electric cars are "most suitable for densely populated areas with lots of air-pollution problems," and because the region is one of the largest and wealthiest car markets and is known to be the leader in adopting new technologies, he said.

California is shaping up as a battleground for electric-vehicle launches next year. General Motors Co. said earlier this month it will focus on California for the Volt, a heavily electrified, plug-in hybrid car. Coda Automotive, a California-based start-up, is also targeting Southern California for the planned launch by late next year of a $40,000, all-electric battery compact sedan, to be built in China using Chinese lithium-ion battery technology. Nissan Motor Co. of Japan is finishing plans for the launch of its all-electric Leaf model in the U.S. and Japan by the end of 2010, although it hasn't said where it will focus initially.

BYD's U.S. launch is being watched in the industry as a test of the global ambitions of China's auto sector to use electric-vehicle technology to close the distance with more established car makers. BYD has said it plans to sell the all-electric, battery-powered e6 model for slightly more than $40,000—competitive with some bigger rivals.