Is Portland green enough for BYD?

Writing for Sustainable Life, Chris Lydgate1 reports that “representatives from BYD Auto of Shenzhen have met with Gov. Ted Kulongoski, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, Mayor Tom Potter, Mayor-elect Sam Adams, and a host of other local dignitaries who are chasing a collective dream: to persuade the Chinese carmaker to make Portland its distribution hub, its North American headquarters or even – buckle your seatbelt – its U.S. manufacturing base.”

Beijing 2008: BYD e6


Make no mistake! BYD intends to be a player in the global market for passenger cars with electric drive.

“It’s still more a dream than a goal,” says Rick Snyder, CEO of EcoMotion, an electric-car dealer on Northeast Sandy Boulevard. “At first blush, it seems like we’re a long way from Detroit. But we do have some manufacturing expertise – we should really jump on this opportunity.”

“The potential is there,” agrees Jin Lan, a China business consultant based in Vancouver, Wash., who was instrumental in bringing the two sides together. “Oregon has a very good name in China in regard to sustainability. This would be a natural fit.”

BYD has galvanized the electric-car business with an innovative plug-in design. Its “dual mode” models run on battery power at all speeds for the first 60 miles. In other words, the gasoline engine only kicks in if you drive more than 60 miles between recharging.

BYD’s cars can be recharged by plugging into a conventional 110-volt wall socket, or a special 220-volt charging station. The batteries require nine hours to recharge completely, but can be charged to 80 percent of capacity within just 15 minutes. Altogether, the cars have a range of approximately 260 miles between refueling or recharging.

“This is like a hybrid on steroids,” says Scott Newcombe of EcoMotion. “I’d buy one tomorrow.”

BYD representatives sound cautiously optimistic. While remaining noncommittal, Henry Li, general manager of BYD’s automobile sales division, told Sustainable Life that he was impressed by Portland’s green reputation. “The top factor is a place that is environmentally friendly, where people have a green mind-set,” Li said. “That’s very important.”

BYD envisions selling two models in the North American market: the F3DM and the F6DM. The cars, which likely will sell for $25,000 to $30,000, are manufactured in China.

BYD logo


BYD leads the charge with passenger cars with electric drive.

One reason BYD’s cars boast a longer range than competitors’ has to do with the company’s history. Originally, it was a manufacturer of batteries – in fact, BYD holds 30 percent of the cell-phone battery market worldwide, according to Li.

“You could say we are battery experts,” he says.

The batteries that power BYD’s cars are ferrous units, which rely on a different chemistry than conventional lithium-ion batteries, and offer better performance with less risk of overheating.

Newcombe says the range and versatility of BYD’s cars will appeal to motorists, some of whom have steered clear of electric vehicles because they are primarily designed for stop-and-go urban hops. The F3DM has a top speed of 90 mph, according to BYD’s Web site, and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 13.5 seconds.

Down the road, BYD hopes to introduce its all-electric models, the F3e and F6e. For these cars to be successful in the U.S. market, Li says, high-speed charging stations offering 220-volt sockets would have to be widely available.

Last month, PGE announced plans to set up such charging stations in the Portland area – several already are in operation, including one outside PGE’s headquarters on Southwest Salmon Street.
Port has capacity, capability

BYD’s immediate need is to find a location to test-drive its cars for the North American market. Beyond that, it soon will want to identify a point of entry where it can import cars made in China.

Eventually, according to Lan, BYD probably will want to establish a manufacturing plant in North America, just as Japanese companies have done.

“It’s an open competition,” Lan says. “Michigan, Idaho and California are all in the mix. We are competing with the big boys.”

Port of Portland at Daybreak


Image from TripCart
Will the Port of Portland become the distribution hub for BYD in North America?

If the idea of Portland as an automotive hub seems far-fetched, it’s worth remembering that several big transportation companies have had manufacturing plants in the area.

Freightliner made trucks on Swan Island until last year. Greenbrier makes railcars and barges in its factory in Northwest Portland; farther south, Monaco Coach makes RVs in Coburg.

However, it will be difficult for Portland to compete with locations such as Mexico in terms of heavy manufacturing, according to Cameron Smith, policy adviser to Kulongoski.

“We’re never going to be the next Detroit,” Smith says. “But I can see BYD having a major footprint at the Port of Portland.”

The port serves as the entry point for approximately 450,000 vehicles a year from Asian manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda, making it the biggest such facility on the West Coast.

Li cautioned that the company’s plans were still in the early stages, but said he expects BYD to settle on a North American test market by the end of the year.

Continue reading here: Biodiesel Stabilizer

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