BYD, that Chinese company that could do no wrong, and that has been anointed by Warren Buffet’s golden hand (and money), is in a bit of a rough patch lately. As if there was no shortage of Bad Yucky Dreams lately, here is more. You want the bad news or the really bad news first? (Read More…)

BYD hasn’t been doing so well for months. BYD’s August sales dropped 5.9 percent from previous month and 19 percent from a year earlier, Reuters says.  Just a few days ago, BYD blamed force majeure for its misfortunes: Seasonal factors, floods and mudslides had impacted sales, they said. (Read More…)

A year ago, BYD issued the startling announcement that “it’s our company’s long-term target, to be China’s No. 1 automaker by 2015 and to be the world’s leading car maker by 2025.” Meaning that they would have to unseat either Volkswagen or Toyota. When they said that, polite analysts in China opined that BYD’s dream was  “realistic” because China and other Asian markets show more promise for growth than the relatively mature US and European markets. In private, people were wondering what drinks they were serving at BYD’s cafeteria.

Now BYD spokesman Lin Mi told Beijing’s Global Times that they may have been a bit overconfident. (Read More…)

Think GM has a tough sell for its coming IPO? Chinese battery/automaker BYD is preparing its own $420m stock offering, likely to be floated on the Shenzhen A-Shares exchange, in the midst of a Chinese-market downturn, and an ongoing lawsuit with electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn. And all this comes after a long run of good news for the Hong Kong-listed BYD, which had been running strong on optimism generated by Warren Buffet’s major investment in the firm nearly two years ago. So, is BYD in real trouble of having its overvalued stock burst, or is the company strong enough to weather the storm that’s swirling around it?
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Reacting to previously reported bad news, China’s BYD has cut its 2010 sales target by 25 percent to still quite ambitious 600,000 units, reports The Nikkei [sub]. (Read More…)

In most parts of the world, electric vehicles are treated as the second coming of Jesus. Meanwhile in Omaha, Warren Buffett is having doubts whether it was such a good idea to pay $230m for 10 percent of China’s  cellphonebattery/car/EV/appliance/house builder BYD.

BYD’s share price has fallen by more than 40 percent over the past three months, China’s First Financial Daily remarks (via Gasgoo.) Can you guess the main reason for the serious drubbing? (Read More…)

Ok, so we heard that BYD is moving onto the home appliance market. Now, BYD takes  development to a whole new level We hear that they will build whole homes! No drywall comments, please, these are environmentally friendly homes. China’s electric car manufacturer BYD Auto teamed up with California’s KB Home to build new energy homes in Lancaster, California. The first-phase construction of the project has recently been completed, Gasgoo says. (Read More…)

It used to be a common joke in China that makers of refrigerators entered the car business by adding wheels to their refrigerators. (Don’t laugh: GM sold their Frigidaire business in 1979, after 50 years of making refrigerators.) Now, BYD comes full circle. They will enter the home appliance business. (Read More…)

Ah, there’s nothing like a good old Chinese catfight over a foreign joint venture partner. Daimler’s Chinese partner BAIC (they build the E-Class and C-Class in Beijing) became increasingly green-eyed watching Daimler playing footsie with up-start BYD. Now, BAIC is throwing a fit.

Gasgoo says that BAIC might withdraw from or delay its planned acquisition of Fujian Daimler, and this could frustrate Daimler’s partnership with BYD. Why is that? (Read More…)

Got a nice empty property in an industrial park in Germany? Centrally located, close to a major airport like Frankfurt, or Munich would be a plus? Then we know some Chinese you may want to talk to. They are in Shenzhen and work for BYD. BYD is coming to Europe. And they want to put their European HQ right into the German hornet’s nest. (Read More…)

China has finally revealed its worst kept secret and announced a pilot program for five Chinese cities. It’s raining cash for buyers of  electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. And it “reflects Beijing’s resolve to foster domestic brands,” says Reuters.

Really? At first glance, there is no discrimination against laowei cars. (Read More…)

Someone is in a big hurry: In March, Daimler and BYD signed an agreement to develop an all electric vehicle “specific to the requirements of the Chinese market.” Usually, it takes a while until something comes from these announcements, especially in China, where everything needs a lot of big red chops. Much to our surprise, we hear that BYD and Daimler signed the contract today to form a 50:50 joint venture for the aforementioned purpose. (Read More…)

You are probably going batty awaiting the American arrival of the all electric Made in China BYD e6. Fret no more: It’s coming! BYD will start selling the plug-in e6 in the U.S. “in 2010,” writes People’s Daily. The price? “Around 40,000 U.S. dollars.” (Read More…)

Thank you, God, or make that Uzume, for keeping me alive long enough so that I can announce this: The Governator himself, that Austrian incarnate of Red, White, Blue, Mom & Apple Pie, has received a starring role in China’s Xinhua newswire:

“California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Friday that Chinese manufacturer BYD Auto Company Limited (BYD) will locate its North American headquarters in Los Angeles.” (Read More…)

As my revered colleagues at China Car Times rightly remark, “March is the first full month of car sales after the Chinese New Year where the majority of dealerships are closed for around two weeks, thus stunting growth of that month, but March is always a very busy month with many customers flush with cash after the New Year.” That’s why everybody who knows the Chinese car industry has a sharp eye on the March numbers. And that’s why everybody gasped when total vehicle sales in China climbed 55.79 percent from March a year earlier. Something else happened. A revolution. (Read More…)