| But BYD did not start to make electric cars. Instead it | | | | But what makes BYD stand out from the crowd? |
| started manufacturing internal combustion engine cars. | | | | Billionaire Warren Buffett invested by October 2008 |
| They've bought an ailing state owned company, and | | | | 230 million dollars in the to become electric car |
| started manufacturing the Flyer, a small car that made | | | | manufacturer. What made him do this? |
| decent sales but already started declining in early 2000. | | | | BYD has proven that despite been a newcomer and |
| So the company invested in a more ambitious project | | | | outsider to the auto industry, it has smartly managed to |
| with the output of the BYD F3 sedan. The sedan | | | | cut through competition, many many companies failed |
| model in general is very popular in China because that | | | | to do so in China, Lifan has not managed to increase, |
| kind of car gave someone a social proof of success. | | | | Bird a Ningbo cell phone manufacturer made a claim to |
| The F3 sold very good topping 150 000 units / year. | | | | enter the market and gave up months later, not to |
| This flagship product made BYD know to the local | | | | mention some non auto related supplier like Polarsun in |
| market and some press mentions oversea. | | | | Shenyang (originally making house door parts), |
| Strengthened by this commercial success, BYD Auto, | | | | ZhongYu (originally making street lighting equipment) |
| the subsidiary of BYD, put effort into developing other | | | | from Wuhan still struggle to make it pay. Let's be frank, |
| make, even in some niche like the F8 coupé. | | | | there is no room for many players and if you enter the |
| The BYD F6 which is a more luxurious F3, the famous | | | | market after 2000, it is far too late. |
| BYD F1 later named F0 because of a conflict with the | | | | BYD tries to capitalize on its core activity : batteries. |
| racing event. | | | | In the coming years, they will market heavily their |
| In 2008, BYD made press coverage by showing its F6 | | | | electric cars their point of differenciation. First they |
| DM (dual mode) car at the Detroit Auto Show. Clearly, | | | | made an announcement about their F3e (for electric), |
| the car was a prototype, but it gave the world a | | | | and later showed their F6 DM, and have started to sell |
| surprise, becaus e outer China, there was a general | | | | their F3 FM in China , with little success until now. The |
| idea that china was 20 years behind the developed | | | | problem is the price and maybe are they coming too |
| nations in terms of car technology. Indeed it is true, and | | | | soon. Environmental friendly is a very new concept in |
| still is at this moment. | | | | China, the world's first polluter after the USA. |