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NEWS

WED

14-Nov-2012

PHOTO CAPTION: BYD e6 to be used by London cab service Green Tomato Cars.

Beijing Focuses Electric Car Initiative on Fleets

Unlike previous campaigns that focused mostly on consumers, this new campaign takes aim at Chinese cities and mass buyers like taxi fleet operators.

Struggling electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594, OTC:BYDDF) got a major boost last week when Beijing announced an innovative new plan to stimulate an anemic industry whose sales have failed to take off despite generous government support. The plan this time around looks much smarter than previous ones by focusing on big customers.

Unlike previous campaigns that focused mostly on consumers, this new campaign takes aim at Chinese cities and mass buyers like taxi fleet operators, whose driving patterns are more suitable to using such vehicles and which have the money and resources to invest in expensive but necessary EV infrastructure. (BYD announcement) The new campaign also takes square aim at pricing, another major obstacle that has kept many cash-strapped cities from taking a more serious look at the technology.

Beijing believes that new energy vehicles are the wave of the future and has actively encouraged its development by domestic car makers despite slow progress for most of the world’s major automakers. BYD has been the most active Chinese firm in the space, and many believe its strong focus on the area was a major reason why billionaire investor Warren Buffett decided to buy 10 percent of the company in 2008.

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