BYD may locate European headquarters in Frankfurt

Shanghai, June 13 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese carmaker BYD Co. plans to locate its European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, following in the footsteps of its domestic rival Brilliance Auto, said just-auto.com recently.

Earlier this month, BYD's export division chief Henry Li said that the company would establish its European operations headquarters in Germany, with plans to build it near a large airport, and the specific location would be announced later this year.

BYD, China's leading electric car maker backed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffet, plans to launch its e6 all-electric car to the European market in 2011, and will also introduce the F3DM plug-in hybrid compact sedan in due time, Henry Li said.

In late April, BYD announced that it was locating its North American headquarters in downtown Los Angeles before entering the U.S. market with its e6 model later this year. BYD will start selling its cars in California first. The e6 will sell in U.S. for $40,000.

BYD also plans to become the first Chinese carmaker to sell electric and hybrid vehicles in Europe in 2011. Its newly signed partnerships with Daimler and Volkswagen put it ahead of Brilliance, who is starting to tap into the European market.

Reportedly, Brilliance Auto is opening its European headquarters in Ginsheim, a district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under the name "Shenhua Europe GmbH," with business to cover spare parts and local dealers.