Hertz, GE Give Jolt to BYD Electric Cars 赫兹新项目为比亚迪“加油

By newsdoug on August 25, 2011

BYD EVs get nice jolt from Hertz, GE After months of announcing electric car deals that have largely left me unimpressed, BYD (HKEx: 1211) has finally come up with a tie-up that looks like a move in the right direction in its uphill quest to boost its costly alternate energy vehicle program. Ironically, or perhaps appropriately, BYD, the struggling auto maker backed by Warren Buffett, was surprisingly quiet during this latest announcement, leaving most of the talking to Hertz, the US auto rental giant which is teaming up with General Electric (NYSE: GE) in this latest initiative. (English article) The initiative will see Hertz offer BYD’s E6 electric vehicles for rent in Beijing, Shanghai and BYD’s hometown of Shenzhen, with GE helping to build up an initial network of 770 charging stations. This is exactly the kind of public-private partnership that we need to see more of from BYD, whose electric vehicle tie-ups to date have mostly been with local governments and have put few if any of its cars in the hands of consumers whose mass buying power will be critical to the success of any electric car initiative. Hertz and GE bring two strong private-sector partners into this equation, no doubt with strong support from city governments, ensuring that decisions will be made on a commercial basis rather than a political one. This program also offers the advantage of scalability if it proves popular, with the national potential that only a private sector organizer could bring. If it works, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hertz and GE eventually bring EVs by other car makers like SAIC (Shanghai: 600104) into the program eventually, and expand the program throughout China

Bottom line: BYD’s new partnership with Hertz and GE marks its smartest tie-up to date to promote its struggling electric car business, and could provide a template for future development.

数月来比亚迪(1211.HK)宣布的电动车协议大多平淡无奇，但日前一次联合看起来终于像是走到了正确的方向上，朝着推动比亚迪替代能源汽车目标努力。不过很有意思但也很恰当的是，比亚迪对于此次合作意外地安静，大多数发言都出自美国租车公司赫兹国际(HTZ.N)。赫兹联合通用电气（GE）(GE.N)在华推广电动车，且将优先采购中国国产电动汽车，最先选定车型是比亚迪E6，初期先在上海、北京和深圳三地试点推广。GE将帮助建成第一批共770个充电站。这正是比亚迪需要推出更多的“公私联姻”模式。迄今为止比亚迪的联合对象多属地方政府，并未把多少电动汽车推到消费者手中。此次合作中，当地政府的支持当然毋庸置疑，而赫兹与GE的参与，相当于两个强大的私营部门角色加入其中，从而保证相关决定基于经济基础而非政治基础。该项目如被证明很受欢迎，具备在全国推广的潜力，将带来规模效应，而向全国推广，操作上只有私营力量才能运作。我认为，如果方案可行，赫兹与GE可能会逐步将其他厂商，如上汽集团(600104.SS)的电动车引入项目中，并面向全国推广该项目。

一句话：比亚迪与赫兹、GE的新项目是比亚迪迄今最明智的“联姻”，有助于其苦苦挣扎的电动汽车业务，并为未来发展提供一个样板。