The Lead Manager of Daimler, the Mercedes Benz and other car manufacturer, Dieter Zetsche mentioned on CNBC this am that Daimler is partnering with a Chinese electric car and battery manufacturer, BYD, to build a new brand of electric cars for the Chinese market.
Reuters says that,
BYD Company Limited (BYD) is a Hong Kong-based joint stock company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the research, development, manufacture and sale of rechargeable batteries, automobiles and related products, handset components, liquid crystal display (LCD) and other electronic products. It operates in four segments: the battery and other products segment comprises the manufacture and sale of rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, emergency lights and other battery related products; the mobile handset components segment comprises the manufacture and sale of LCD and other handset components; the automobiles and related products segment comprises the manufacture and sale of automobiles and auto-related moulds and components, and the others segment comprises, principally, non-manufacturing business of the Company and its subsidiaries.
This is big news since although the electric car market seems to be burgeoning throughout the world slowly, China, already a leader in green house gas emissions, simply cannot replicate the transportation model of Europe and the US with millions of petro-powered vehicles. The world could not handle the waste.
It was pleasing to hear Zetsche say just that and is a great shot across the bow of the petro manufacturers that the Daimler Chair would vow to offer China’s people a different than the current model of the world where we are all beholden to a small group of petro power producers.
Zetsche went on to say that the current drawback to electric cars is the range(ie you can only go a limited distance on a battery charge) limitation.
I know there are many companies working on improving battery technology to correct this problem. Of course there is the problem of consistency of sourcing key heavy metal ingredients of electric rechargeable batteries that could lead to a new level of tyranny by the countries mining these key metals as the petro states have treated us all with oil.
Zetsche says he feels that in 10 years time up to 10% of North American vehicles will be powered by electric. Finally the tide is turning and the grand party the petro powers(including many based in the USA)have enjoyed for many years at the expense of the world could finally be ending.
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