China's BYD Insists U.S. EV Debuts This Year

Amid skepticism, Chinese battery- -maker-turned auto maker BYD Auto Co. Ltd. says it will launch its e6 electric car in the U.S. before the end of 2010, a year earlier than promised 12 months ago.

BYD unveiled the battery-powered CUV at the 2009 Detroit auto show, stating the 5,060-lb. (2,295-kg) vehicle would have a range of 250 miles (402 km) and be introduced in 2011.

The auto maker since has revised the e6's range downward to 205 miles (330 km), but it is accelerating the timetable for U.S. introduction to the end of 2010.

This latest claim strains the credulity of analysts and observers who already doubted BYD could meet U.S. safety standards and establish a retail network.

Another problem: The build quality of the vehicle displayed at this year's NAIAS, inside and out, is not up to U.S. fit-and-finish standards. Still, BYD Global Marketing Manager Paul Lin is unbowed.

“We're scheduled to bring the e6 electric vehicle to the U.S. by the end of this year. (BYD is) working on a distribution system and talking to dealers,” Lin tells Ward's. “Our business model is to go directly to dealers, especially on the West Coast.”

Lin says he is confident the vehicle will pass U.S. crash tests because BYD designed the e6 using the strictest global test standards it could find.

Lin also says the auto maker is talking to energy companies in the U.S.