Bid Case

While most Americans have never even heard of the Chinese company BYD, it is a company with plans to make a big impression on the auto industry. What started off as a young man’s fascination with batteries in 1995 has grown to be one of the leading manufacturers of rechargeable batteries.
BYD Company Ltd is headquartered in China’s largest and fastest growing city, Shenzhen which sits just north of Hong Kong. The company began in 1995 when twenty-nine year old chemist and government researcher, Wang Chuan Fu, started a rechargeable battery company. He received an initial investment of $300,000 from relatives for the company’s start-up. Despite being raised by siblings after his parents’ death, Wang Chuan Fu rose to rank number 559 on the
He wanted to design superior rechargeable batteries to replace poor quality imports. He studied the Japanese imports by dissecting and studying Sony’s and Sanyo’s battery patents. Both Sony and Sanyo unsuccessfully sued BYD for patent infringement. BYD improved the quality of rechargeable lithium batteries. Unlike its major competitors, BYD’s battery products have never been recalled for safety problems. Although Sony currently controls the largest share of the consumer battery market, BYD is a major provider of batteries for many Motorola and Apple phones and electronics.
Rechargeable lithium ion batteries contain more power than other batteries of comparable size. They are used in most consumer products like cell phones and laptops. BYD R&D teams are researching lithium ion batteries that steam instead of explodes when they overheat. Another R&D project combines solar power to recharge batteries.
Without having any automobile manufacturing experience, Wang Chuan Fu purchased Tsinchuan Automotive Company in 2003. The acquisition of the defunct Chinese state owned car company created BYD Auto Company LTD and focused on creating limited gasoline powered vehicles that use batteries such as hybrids and electric
Marketing to the American consumer, purchasing a Chinese competitor and concentrate on hybrids.
Marketing to the American public should have a two-pronged approach. Part one is to target the baby boomers born between 1945 and 1964, who have the income to purchase electric vehicles. The majority of patriotic “buy American” baby boomers who are reluctant to buy foreign vehicles are now out of the new car market. Their population is approximately 78 million. The electric vehicle will appeal to them because they are typically local drivers and extended trip range is not necessarily a deal breaker for them.
Following the Baby Boomers is Generation X, born between 1965 and 1984. They number a mere 46 million and are dwarfed by both Generation Y following them and the Baby Boomers. While there will be buyers from Generation X willing to purchase, the number of them is so small that BYD could have a difficult time winning over enough of them to make a