BYD-Daimler EV Venture Selects South China's Shenzen for R&D Center
By John O'Dell March 12, 2010Chinese battery and auto maker BYD said it has selected the southern Chinese city of Shenzen as the site for a new electric vehicle research center it will jointly operate with Germany's Daimler.
The two companies last week announced a joint venture to develop EVs specifically for the Chinese market, to be sold under a new brand name.
BYD says it also will work with various Chinese government agencies to promote installation of EV charges throughout the country.
China has said that it intends to become the word leader in electric transportation as it moves to reduce its dependence on oil and to cut the air pollution that blankets many of its cities. (China uses a lot of coal-fired power plants, and while burning coal for the power to charge electric cars, trucks and buses won't do much to cut overall CO2 or smog-causing emissions, it is likely to move the pollution out of the cities.)
Shenzen, a city of about 14 million, is located directly north of Hong Kong and is one of China's major economic centers and a hub of manufacturing and high-tech development.
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