Tesla Now Has A Major Warren Buffett-backed Rival In China

[RUCRAYZE]

Tesla Now Has A Major Warren Buffett-Backed Rival In China
The Huffington Post | By Alexander C. Kaufman
Posted: 03/14/2015 12:17 pm EDT Updated: 03/14/2015 12:59 pm EDT

Add a competitor from China to Tesla Motors’ challenges in China.

BYD -- the Shenzhen-based electric automaker backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway -- said Friday that it plans to ramp up production of batteries.

The move positions the company to take on Tesla in the fight to become the dominant supplier of batteries to electric vehicles.

For each of the next three years, BYD will add six gigawatt-hours of production for batteries, raising its capacity from about 10 gigawatt-hours at the end of this year to about 34 gigawatt-hours by the beginning of 2020.

That would put BYD on par with Tesla’s planned “gigafactory,” the Palo Alto-based company’s $5 billion bet on the battery business. CEO Elon Musk has said the facility will reach full production capacity of about 35 gigawatt-hours by 2020.

BYD’s expansion comes just weeks after Tesla admitted it fumbled its entry into China.

Reuters reported that the company only sold 120 cars in the country in January. Last month, Tesla fired about 30 percent of its 600-person staff in China, according to the local newspaper Economic Observer.

Neither BYD nor Tesla responded to requests for comment.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Thought the above was interesting, as, in the future it might effect E.M.

 

[Hotscoots]

When China enters a market , all others fall off the cliff . In our lifetime , we will watch with mouths wide open as China leads the world in automobile sales . If you think Hyundai and Kia changed the paradigm , sit back and see Chery , Geely and Jianghuai own the universe .

 

[Rickb]

When China enters a market , all others fall off the cliff . In our lifetime , we will watch with mouths wide open as China leads the world in automobile sales . If you think Hyundai and Kia changed the paradigm , sit back and see Chery , Geely and Jianghuai own the universe .

In order to compete in the USA Auto Market the Chinese would have to build a quality vehicle that has mass market appeal: $6900, 85 mpg, 5 + star safety, built in the USA using China's off the shelf parts, and direct to consumer sales model............wait a minute..........Elio in Chinese is PinYin. Perhaps a PinYin EV Model.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

In order to compete in the USA Auto Market the Chinese would have to build a quality vehicle that has mass market appeal: $6900, 85 mpg, 5 + star safety, built in the USA using China's off the shelf parts, and direct to consumer sales model............wait a minute..........Elio in Chinese is PinYin. Perhaps a PinYin EV Model.

FOTFLMAO!!!- and 90mpg $6500, 7 star Rating!!!

 

[Ty]

When China enters a market , all others fall off the cliff . In our lifetime , we will watch with mouths wide open as China leads the world in automobile sales . If you think Hyundai and Kia changed the paradigm , sit back and see Chery , Geely and Jianghuai own the universe .

I watched a Chery which is an exact copy of a GM model. I can't remember which. Anyway, they ran both into a concrete barrier as a test. The GM car would have had little to no injury to the occupants. The Chery was crushed so bad it would have been unlikely there would be survivors.

They are in litigation with GM at the moment from copying GM cars... So closely that you could remove a door from the Chery QQ and put it on a GM Spark with no fit issues. Quality is another story.

You are probably right because most of the developing world isn't as safety driven and the US is so cheap wins. That plus manufacturing capability. China may be able to out produce us and just flood the market with sub-par vehicles. That may be enough for them to get their feet in the door.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Thought the above was interesting, as, in the future it might effect E.M.

It could I suppose, but I'm thinking it wouldn't. For vehicles, as others have mentioned, in the U.S. the Chinese vehicles have to improve their quality big time. For ICE engine vs. EV, China's thirst for gasoline isn't going to be impacted by electric vehicles. The article is more about Tesla's challenges in China than it is about China's EV batteries making it to the U.S. Is it a matter of time? Maybe, but prob not in our lifetime. Jmo.

 

[Rickb]

It seems more logical that Tesla would have a more difficult time with competition in the Chinese market than the Chinese in the US market. If China were to manufacrture cars in the USA they would certainly have to meet our vehicle safety standards. Note to Paul: Perhaps they are interested in some used equipment from the old GM factory.

 

[Hotscoots]

I am old enough to remember Japan's entry into the USA . Most people laughed . Junk cars they said . Fold like Japanese cameras they said . No American will ever buy one they said . Then , exactly the same thing was stated by pundits about the Korean rides .
It's inevitable . In very short order , China will replace Toyota and GM as the world's largest auto makers . Personally , I would much rather have an Elio than this ::::

 

[WilliamH]

It seems more logical that Tesla would have a more difficult time with competition in the Chinese market than the Chinese in the US market. If China were to manufacrture cars in the USA they would certainly have to meet our vehicle safety standards. Note to Paul: Perhaps they are interested in some used equipment from the old GM factory.

GM or FCA might be interested in the big stamping machines. I hear they're still using, mostly, steel body panels.
(FCA = Fiat Chrysler America)