China to be First for Entirely Electric Mini Van
According to word coming out of Beijing, China is continuing steps to advance its agenda to switch over vehicles from petro based to all electric. The Asian giant is now looking to introduce the very first Chinese made all electric minivan into the United States markets in the hops that it might interest US consumers in switching over from gas powered vehicles in the coming years. China views this as a chance to capitalize on the coming switch as most nations have begun to take a more eco friendly approach to solving transportation issues with individual drivers and reducing their dependence on oil from the chronically unstable regions of the world such as the Middle East. Automaker BYD will be the first to try selling such cars on the West Coast of the US in 2010 by offering a five seat e6 as its initial model. The e6 is one in a series of so called green vehicles which have been developed by Chinese car makers, some of which run on small wind turbines, others using solar panels or even batteries to power the driving.
BYD is partially owned by Warren Buffet, the famed Oracle of Omaha US billionaire who founded Berkshire Hathaway decades ago. The company has a substantial stake in the Chinese automaker and hopes the car will interest customers outside of the Chinese market. These days, China is the world’s largest car market after emerging as a major buyer and producer of green vehicles. Other than BYD, makers such as Chery Automobile and Geely are also up and comers for the car world.