BYD confirms goal to sell car in U.S. in 2010
Chinese automaker BYD - Build Your Dreams - said this morning at its press conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit that it intends to sell its e6 electric vehicle in the United States later this year.
BYD claims that the little crossover has a range that exceeds 200 miles and that it can accelerate to 60 mph in less than 14 seconds before topping out around 85 mph.
Meeting federal safety standards shouldn't be an issue, BYD's representatives said. The company would distribute the e6 through a third party, although one has not been named. The company has previously indicated its plans to distribute the e6 in North America, but today marked the first firm announcement on an on-sale date this year.
The automaker also says that it wants to be the largest producer of automobiles in the world by 2025 - a claim that might not be out of reach given its sales were up 130 percent to over 400,000 last year. BYD projects that it could sell as many as 900,000 of its cars in 2010.