BYD F3DM hybrid to go on sale in Shanghai in Aug

Shanghai, July 21 (Gasgoo.com) China's leading electric-car maker is set to sell its F3DM hybrid vehicle to individual buyers in Shanghai early the month, local media reported. The F3DM hybrid hit BYD's showrooms in Shanghai yesterday.

The F3DM, the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid, can run a battery-only range of 60 kilometers on a single charge. The battery can be fully recharged in seven hours at a household outlet and can be half recharged in 10 minutes at a special outlet.

Previously, the F3DM was mainly supplied to corporate buyers. The car, which will sell to individual customers for 169,800 yuan ($25,000), qualifies for a 50,000 yuan subsidy from the central government. An additional subsidy of around 30,000 yuan or a car license may be also offered by the local government to support the purchase of clean-energy cars.

BYD, backed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, expects the government's stimulus packages for green cars will boost the F3DM hybrid's sales. The company may also raise the annual sales of F3DM from 1,000 units this year, said BYD's publicity executive Xu An.

China will initially hand out 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) to subsidize buyers of alternative energy vehicles, aiming to have 500,000 green cars on the roads by 2012. A subsidy of up to 60,000 yuan will be granted for buying a new energy vehicle.