Dongfeng

June 19, 2009

Detroit Electric, Dongfeng Motor Do Deal for Chinese Electric Vehicles

Detroit Electric, the Dutch EV startup, said it has signed an agreement with China's Dongfeng Motor Corp. to help develop and sell electric vehicles in China.

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Detroit Electric's first prototype EV uses a body built by Malaysia's Proton.
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The cars would be based on Detroit Electric's EV drive technology.

The initial agreement calls for Dongfeng to test and validate Detroit Electric's technology with the intention to use it in production of Dongfeng-branded EVs.

The companies said they also are in discussions to form a joint venture company to manufacture, assemble, produce and supply the electric drive technology to the Dongfeng Group and other vehicle manufacturers.

Previously, Detroit Electric and Malaysian carmaker Proton signed a licensing and assembly deal that would provide Detroit Electric with vehicle platforms and its first manufacturing base.

Detroit Electric, formed last year by a group of Dutch, Malaysian and American investors, has said it intends to begin selling EVs in Europe, Asia and the U.S. next year,with a first-year goal of 45,000 sales, increasing to 270,000 by 2012.

That's an awfully optimistic goal and we're not holding our breath -- but we do wish them luck.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 19, 2009, 10:14 AM
Categories:: China, Dongfeng, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chinese EVs

April 9, 2009

Nissan Reportedly Will Create Electric-Vehicle Program in Large Chinese City

Add Nissan to the list of automakers (including Chongqing Changan Auto, BYD, Brilliance, Chery, Dongfeng and SAIC) that are intent upon plugging into the rough-and-tumble Chinese market for hybrid-electric and battery-electric cars.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Nissan is negotiating with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to create a pilot electric-vehicle program in Wuhan, a city in central China with nine million residents.

The deal is unusual, the Journal reports, because Beijing typically doesn't forge such partnerships with foreign companies. The newspaper reported that the deal, which calls for Nissan to contribute cars and help create a recharging network, could be completed as soon as Friday.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 9, 2009, 11:49 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BYD, Chery, China, China, Dongfeng, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chinese Hybrids

February 10, 2009

China Says It Will Offer Subsidies to Buyers of Hybrid Cars, Trucks and Buses

China has taken steps in recent years to change its reputation as a mass polluter to an environmentally sensitive country.

Its efforts started with a massive Beijing clean-up operation for the Olympics, followed by a $175 billion countrywide clean-up and the closure of some particularly dirty coal power plants.

Soon the country will offer subsidies to the residents and businesses of 13 large cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, who purchase hybrid cars, trucks and buses, or vehicles that run on electricity, liquefied petroleum gas or compressed natural gas.

If the subsidy program succeeds, it might be extended to the rest of China.

Although the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and the domestically produced and recently released BYD F3DM are available in China, fewer than a 1,000 hybrids cars were sold in 2008.

That number will likely change as China produces more hybrids, which are much less expensive than the Japanese hybrids. The size of the subsidies have yet to be announced.

So far, only two Chinese carmakers - Dongfeng Motor and Great Wall Motor (its Kunna EV is pictured) - have announced plans to make electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.