Chinese Hybrid Powered Cars

Here come the Chinese! While most of us are familiar with the hybrid powered cars that are being offered by a number of well known asian automakers, there is a new force on the horizon.  Chinese automakers are aiming to get a piece of the world wide hybrid powered car market and have some interesting and innovative ideas about what a hybrid car should be.  One such car is the BYD F3DM, China’s first mass produced electric hybrid car, which is remarkable in many ways.

While in some ways it is a rather ordinary car,  it is said to have exceptional acceleration when you put your foot down. This hybrid car is a plug-in electric car, hence the acceleration, but when the electric battery runs out after 80 miles (128km) or so, the gas engine switches in seamlessly.

Now that the GM Volt seems to be stuck in the financial crisis that American automakers are facing, it may well beat similar American plug-ins to the market. The F3DM may be available as soon as the fall of 2010. Government regulators are currently examining the F3DM to see if it is up to standards for the US market. If it checks out, it would most likely beat the Volt to market – and cost almost half as much.

So, just who is BYD? BYD is a a Chinese company which has been in existence for only 13 years, and which only recently started building any kind of car at all. That doesn’t mean that they are new to the world market. They are well known in the battery business. BYD builds rechargeable batteries for many of today’s most popular electronics. BYD is the world’s largest manufacturer of rechargeable cell-phone batteries, boasting a 30 percent market share. It also makes batteries for laptops, tools, and other electronics. Located in Shenzhen this area has become a byword for China’s manufacturing base.