China’s New Hybrid Car. Warren Buffet Wants A Piece.
I remember writing a while back about how Honda was looking very seriously at the Chinese auto market as the “next big thing.” Thought they may not have come out and explicitly said so, it was pretty obvious from the tone that China was soon to be the hot spot for new cars. One good example of the innovation and solid market of the Chinese auto makers comes in the form of a new hybrid put out by BYD motors. According to Businessweek.com some big names are coming out in support of this new hybrid:
Early this year there was plenty of skepticism in auto circles about BYD’s ability to put together a car that would ever become truly roadworthy. The company unveiled its plug-in hybrid at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and few outsiders figured the Chinese upstart, which had only been in the auto business since 2003, had the know-how to produce a commercially viable plug-in.
One person who seems to believe in the car’s viability is Warren Buffett. In September, Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy, which is controlled by Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), paid $231 million for a 9.9% stake in BYD Auto’s parent company BYD with a view to helping BYD distribute its cars in the U.S. by 2011.
Hey didn’t Obama want to make Buffett Secratary of the Treasury? Kind of ironic since spending $231 million on a Chinese car company goes against all that “keep the manufacturing jobs here” lip service during the campaign. What, GM not 231 million dollars worthy Warren?
It seems so ironic that China is moving towards capitalism (and now owns more American interests then you can shake a stick at) as America becomes more communistic. I think the results of both moves are pretty obvious.
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This is very interesting that Warren Buffet has his eyes on this hybrid company. You can bet that if Warren sees as an investment play, that there is serious money making potential. If China could dominate the hybrid or electric car market and the products were top quality, Detroit may never regain their foothold in the world marketplace. Be interesting to see how this pans out.