BYD to invest billions in battery plant

Chinese car and battery maker BYD, which is 10 percent owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, will invest $3.3 billion over five years to build China's largest solar battery plant, a report said Saturday.

Shenzhen based BYD, which aims to sell 800,000 vehicles next year, will build the plant in China's Shaanxi province, a report in the South China Morning Post said, citing the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission Web site.

The plant will have capacity to produce a total of 5,000 megawatts of batteries, the report said.

BYD's F3 sedan was the best-selling car in China in the first 11 months of 2009. BYD is expected to start selling its first electric car, the e6, in the first quarter.

Tweet