Build Your Dreams, one of China's largest battery and electric vehicle companies, has been telling us for months that it plans to bring affordable, competitive and safe electric vehicles to the U.S. market very soon.
But as the months roll on, BYD's claim to get a car to market sooner rather than later is fading.
However, it's not federal safety tests or poor product design which is causing the Chinese company concerns at the moment. It's poor sales performance and lengthy court battles.
Late last week, BYD announced it planned to delay plans to list on the Shenzhen stock market after the company suffered poor domestic sales. Earlier last month, BYD asked its shareholders to approve delaying the flotation, after blaming poor stock-market performance worldwide.
2010 Detroit Auto Show
While industrial espionage and a poor stock market aren't exactly prime reasons to delay the launch of BYD's e6 electric car into the U.S. market, BYD does face an uphill struggle to compete with cars like the 2011 Nissan Leaf, which already has a bursting order book for 2011/12.
BYD aims to sell its five-seat EV in the U.S. for around $40,000 but as yet no public test-drives have been offered.
As always, we're keen to see new electric vehicles make it to market but think BYD may find more success now as part of the BYD/Daimler collaboration announced earlier this year, in which BYD will help Daimler produce an all electric Mercedes A-Class sized car.
