Technology Levels Playing Field in Race to Market Electric Car

This WSJ article sheds a little more light on Berkshire's investment in BYD. You can check the stock price HERE (Berkshire's purchase was at HK$8.00).

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It would seem like a lousy time to get into the car business, especially if you're a little-known company in the developing world. No start-up has grown into a major auto maker in at least half a century.

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Wang Chuanfu, the founder and chairman of BYD Co., a Chinese battery and car maker, thinks he's got a shot.

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Last month, BYD began selling a plug-in electric hybrid car in China, at least a year ahead of similar efforts in the U.S. and Japan. The car, called the F3DM, plugs into a home outlet and comes with a small gasoline engine that can recharge the battery on the go. It is the first of an array of electrified cars BYD plans to introduce around the world, starting in China and then in the U.S. and Europe as early as 2010.

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On Monday, Mr. Wang is expected to pitch the F3DM to U.S. consumers, during a news conference at Detroit's North American International Auto Show, which opens to the public Saturday. His venture has already attracted the attention of industry veterans and investors, including Warren Buffett.

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Mr. Wang's strategy: capitalizing on the electric car's low barriers to entry. Few products are as complex to develop and produce as gasoline-powered automobiles, which are assembled with thousands of precisely engineered parts. But electric cars use only basic motors and gearboxes, and have relatively few parts. Aside from perfecting the battery itself, they're far easier and cheaper to build -- and that makes for a level playing field.

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Standing amid firecrackers and confetti, Mr. Wang declared the e6 marked the arrival of a new era in automobiles: "We have every confidence to surpass GM and Toyota and other global auto makers in electric-vehicle technology."

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