BYD, SocGen unit set up China auto financing firm

Chinese battery and car maker BYD Co has set up an auto financing firm with a subsidiary of Societe Generale's consumer financing arm, an adviser of the French company said on Monday.

The auto financing firm, 80 percent held by BYD, was expected to start operation early next year, providing auto financing services in China, law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel said in a statement.

Gide Loyrette Nouel said it had advised Compagnie Generale de Locations d'Equipement (CGL), a subsidiary of Societe Generale Consumer Finance, on the deal.

BYD, partly owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, is a fast-growing car maker, with a 4.5 percent share of the country's car market at the end of June.