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400 km per charge on China’s e6

— PHOTO: XINHUA

China’s BYD e6, an electric vehicle, on display at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), in Detroit on Tuesday.

DETROIT: A purely electric car with a range of 400 km on a single charge, claimed to be the first of its kind, was launched at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit on Monday.

The car, developed by Chinese automaker BYD Co. Ltd. and named “e6,” drew much attention from both the industry and the media at its debut at NAIAS.

At a press conference held in the main hall of the Cobo centre, chairman and president of BYD Co. Ltd. Wang Huafu said the new car, which could comfortably seat five passengers and drive 400 km on a single charge, marked another great technological breakthrough for the company.

“This is the first vehicle of its kind in the world,” he told a gathering of nearly 1,000 reporters and people from the auto industry.

“The core enabling technology is the BYD Fe Battery, applied in its all three electric vehicles. The Fe battery is extremely safe, environmentally friendly and affordable,” said Mr. Wang. “This battery will have a lifetime of over 10 years, and it has the capability to be charged 50 per cent in 10 minutes,” he added.

Talking about the sales and distribution network, Mr. Wang said the company would start developing its sales and distribution networks in North America. “Our goal is to introduce BYD electric vehicles in North America in 2011 and set up our manufacturing facilities in the United States when it is appropriate,” he said.

BYD has brought another newly-developed plug-in hybrid car, the “F3DM,” to the NAIAS, which is also drawing lots of spectators.

“As many auto companies including the U.S. big three, Japanese Toyota and Korean Hyundai are vying to develop the plug-in hybrid technology, BYD has launched this kind of car. It is really a good news not only to China, but also to the whole auto industry,” said Peter, an industry analyst from Europe.

Over 80 automakers, including two from China, are participating in the two-week-long NAIAS, which opened here on Sunday. — Xinhua

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