Chinese automaker BYD plans massive expansion
Chinese automaker BYD Co. said Monday it had massive expansion plans this year and would consider building a plant in the United States, a day after announcing annual profits had tripled.
The company, which has the backing of American billionaire Warren Buffett, said it will put aside 10 billion yuan (1.5 billion US dollars) this year to grow its business, including plans for two new mainland Chinese car plants.
Wang Chuanfu, BYD's chairman and reportedly China's richest man, told a news conference Monday the firm is also on track to launch its e6 electric car in the US in the second half of the year, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
He also kept open the possibility of setting up a car plant in the United States where hard-hit automakers are struggling to recover from declining sales caused by the global downturn.
The company planned to open a US sales office in the second half of the year, Wang said, according to a company spokeswoman. "(And) if there is a market, we will not exclude the chance to set up a production plant in the United States," Wang added.
Late Sunday, Hong Kong-listed BYD, which is 10 percent owned by a unit of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway investment giant, said 2009 profit was 3.79 billion yuan from 1.02 billion yuan the year before, due to strong China sales.
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