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国电池和汽车制造商比亚迪股份有限公司(BYD Co.)一位高管说，公司计划明年在美国试销一款全电动电池汽车，这款汽车的试销工作已延迟了近一年，公司现与洛杉矶政府官员就向洛杉矶提供电动公共汽车一事进行谈判，可能最终会在洛杉矶建立一座制造厂。比亚迪e6电动车本来应于今年在美国市场推出，但中国汽车业的全球发展战略遇阻，因而推出计划受到推迟。中国汽车业希望利用电动车技术缩小与全球更知名的汽车制造商之间的差距。
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比亚迪e6纯电动车
李柯在前不久接受电话采访时，否认推迟e6上市与比亚迪某款电池技术有可能发生知识产权侵权有关。
尽管如此，一位与比亚迪过从甚密的人士说，推迟上市的原因之一是担心在锂粉方面可能会出现知识产权侵权。
这种锂粉是制造高功率锂离子电池一种至关重要的原材料，而锂离子电池则可帮助驱动雪佛兰伏特(Chevy Volt)、日产聆风(Nissan Leaf)和比亚迪e6等全电动车和插电式电动混合动力汽车。
不过这位人士说，比亚迪已获得了生产或获得锂粉的合法途径，从而似乎已经解决了这一问题。
李柯说，比亚迪解决锂粉的方案与众不同，公司完全不担心自己的技术会出现任何专利侵权问题，我们有自己的知识产权。
她说，比亚迪计划到明年年底向包括洛杉矶市政府在内的多个南加州车队客户提供50辆e6电动车。比亚迪今年年初向中国南部城市深圳的出租车运营商销售了e6电动车，目前正在收集投入使用后的数据以对这款车进行改进。
李柯说，到2012年时比亚迪将使个人消费者也可以在美国买到e6。她拒绝就需求作出预测，说这将取决于汽油价格和其他相关因素。
比亚迪董事长王传福曾说，总部位于深圳的比亚迪计划的e6售价将略高于4万美元──这与一些大型竞争对手相比具有竞争力。
同时，李柯说比亚迪准备向洛杉矶开始供应全电动公交车。与洛杉矶市的谈判从今年年初就一直在进行，当时比亚迪同意将其美国总部设在洛杉矶。谈判内容包括比亚迪成为洛杉矶公交供应商的一份潜在合约。
李柯说，一开始我们会从中国出口电动车，但最终我们必须将生产本地化。李柯还谈到如果需求足够旺盛，那么在洛杉矶组装这些车辆所具备的成本优势将会更大。
为了吸引比亚迪将美国总部落户洛杉矶，后者付出了很大的努力。它同意考虑对公交进行测试，并同意购买比亚迪的全电动汽车。
李柯说，比亚迪打算在明年第二季度前至少向美国发往一辆电动公交车用作样车，这样洛杉矶就能直接体验我们的车。如果测试结果令人满意，届时洛杉矶市政府和比亚迪将签署协议，让这家中国企业成为洛杉矶公交的一家正式供应商。
今年被任命为洛杉矶第一副市长的前华尔街管理人士布特纳(Austin Beutner)说，洛杉矶有兴趣在该市的公交编队中使用电动车。
布特纳在近日的一次采访中说，目前我们加大了对电动车的财政投入，不过我们也许希望向公共交通稍加倾斜。他谈到与单独的电动乘用车相比，电动公交车在运送乘客方面的效率要更高。
为了吸引比亚迪在洛杉矶建造电动车工厂，布特纳说该市愿意动用市政权力，开出一份足够大的订单来吸引比亚迪落户于此。
他说，洛杉矶在十年左右的时间里将有能力购买数千辆电动公交车。
Norihiko Shirouzu
（更新完成）
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
Chinese battery and car maker BYD Co. plans to start test-marketing an all-electric battery car in the U.S. next year, after almost a year's delay, and is in talks with officials in Los Angeles to supply e-buses that could eventually lead to a manufacturing plant in the city, a senior company executive said.
Originally, the e6 vehicle was supposed to launch in the U.S. this year. The delay has been a setback for the global ambitions of China's auto sector, which wants to use electric-vehicle technology to close the distance with more-established global car makers.
Stella Li, BYD's senior vice president and head of its U.S. operations, said the holdup was caused by BYD's efforts to make the car roomier, especially its rear-seat area that was cramped because of a beefy battery pack that needs to be stored under the seat.
In a recent telephone interview, Ms. Li denied that the delay had anything to do with a possible intellectual-property infringement on certain battery technology by BYD.
Still, an individual close to BYD said the postponement was in part a result of fear of potential intellectual-property infringement involving lithium powder.
The powder is a critical raw material in high-power lithium-ion batteries that help propel all-electric and plug-in electric hybrid cars, such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, as well as BYD's e6 car.
The individual said, however, that BYD appears to have resolved the problem by securing a legal way to produce or procure lithium powder.
Ms. Li said 'BYD's formula [for lithium powder] is different,' and the company isn't worried at all about any patent infringement with its technology. 'We have our own IP,' she said.
She said BYD plans to ship as many as 50 e6 electric cars by the end of next year to fleet customers in Southern California, including the municipal government of Los Angeles. BYD earlier this year began selling e6 cars to taxi operators in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and is collecting field data to improve the car.
Ms. Li said BYD will make the e6 available for purchases by private buyers in the U.S. in 2012. She declined to forecast demand, saying it 'will depend on gasoline prices and other peripheral factors.'
BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu has said his Shenzhen-based company plans to sell the e6 model for slightly more than $40,000 -- competitive with some bigger rivals.
Meanwhile, Ms. Li said BYD is preparing to start supplying all-electric buses to the city of Los Angeles. Talks with the city have been going on since the beginning of this year, when BYD agreed to locate its U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles. Those negotiations involve a possible contract to make BYD a supplier of city buses.
'Initially, we would ship e-buses from China, but eventually we would have to localize production,' Ms. Li said, citing a greater cost advantage in assembling those buses in Los Angeles if there is enough demand.
Getting the company to locate its U.S. head office in Los Angeles took significant effort by the city, which agreed to consider conducting a pilot test for the bus, and to buy BYD's all-electric vehicles.
Ms. Li said BYD plans to ship at least one electric bus by the second quarter of next year as 'a demonstration vehicle' so that 'the city could experience our bus first-hand.' If the test produced positive results, then the Los Angeles municipal government and BYD would sign an agreement to make the Chinese company a formal supplier of city buses.
Austin Beutner, a former Wall Street executive who this year was named the city's first deputy mayor, said Los Angeles is interested in using electric vehicles in the city's bus fleet.
'We are spending our policy dollars right now more on electric cars, but maybe we want to tilt it a little bit more toward public transportation,' Mr. Beutner said during a recent interview, citing the efficiency of the electric bus in transporting passengers compared with the individual electric passenger car.
To entice BYD to locate an electric-bus factory in Los Angeles, Mr. Beutner said that the city is willing to 'put our municipal power to work' and place an order large enough for BYD to do so.
'Los Angeles would be able to buy several thousand electric buses . . . over a decade or so,' he said.
Norihiko Shirouzu
Originally, the e6 vehicle was supposed to launch in the U.S. this year. The delay has been a setback for the global ambitions of China's auto sector, which wants to use electric-vehicle technology to close the distance with more-established global car makers.
Stella Li, BYD's senior vice president and head of its U.S. operations, said the holdup was caused by BYD's efforts to make the car roomier, especially its rear-seat area that was cramped because of a beefy battery pack that needs to be stored under the seat.
In a recent telephone interview, Ms. Li denied that the delay had anything to do with a possible intellectual-property infringement on certain battery technology by BYD.
Still, an individual close to BYD said the postponement was in part a result of fear of potential intellectual-property infringement involving lithium powder.
The powder is a critical raw material in high-power lithium-ion batteries that help propel all-electric and plug-in electric hybrid cars, such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, as well as BYD's e6 car.
The individual said, however, that BYD appears to have resolved the problem by securing a legal way to produce or procure lithium powder.
Ms. Li said 'BYD's formula [for lithium powder] is different,' and the company isn't worried at all about any patent infringement with its technology. 'We have our own IP,' she said.
She said BYD plans to ship as many as 50 e6 electric cars by the end of next year to fleet customers in Southern California, including the municipal government of Los Angeles. BYD earlier this year began selling e6 cars to taxi operators in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and is collecting field data to improve the car.
Ms. Li said BYD will make the e6 available for purchases by private buyers in the U.S. in 2012. She declined to forecast demand, saying it 'will depend on gasoline prices and other peripheral factors.'
BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu has said his Shenzhen-based company plans to sell the e6 model for slightly more than $40,000 -- competitive with some bigger rivals.
Meanwhile, Ms. Li said BYD is preparing to start supplying all-electric buses to the city of Los Angeles. Talks with the city have been going on since the beginning of this year, when BYD agreed to locate its U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles. Those negotiations involve a possible contract to make BYD a supplier of city buses.
'Initially, we would ship e-buses from China, but eventually we would have to localize production,' Ms. Li said, citing a greater cost advantage in assembling those buses in Los Angeles if there is enough demand.
Getting the company to locate its U.S. head office in Los Angeles took significant effort by the city, which agreed to consider conducting a pilot test for the bus, and to buy BYD's all-electric vehicles.
Ms. Li said BYD plans to ship at least one electric bus by the second quarter of next year as 'a demonstration vehicle' so that 'the city could experience our bus first-hand.' If the test produced positive results, then the Los Angeles municipal government and BYD would sign an agreement to make the Chinese company a formal supplier of city buses.
Austin Beutner, a former Wall Street executive who this year was named the city's first deputy mayor, said Los Angeles is interested in using electric vehicles in the city's bus fleet.
'We are spending our policy dollars right now more on electric cars, but maybe we want to tilt it a little bit more toward public transportation,' Mr. Beutner said during a recent interview, citing the efficiency of the electric bus in transporting passengers compared with the individual electric passenger car.
To entice BYD to locate an electric-bus factory in Los Angeles, Mr. Beutner said that the city is willing to 'put our municipal power to work' and place an order large enough for BYD to do so.
'Los Angeles would be able to buy several thousand electric buses . . . over a decade or so,' he said.
Norihiko Shirouzu
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