Hybrid Cars

Like the Sputnik debacle of the 50s (when the Reds beat us to orbit), the Chinese have beat us to the punch for a mass market EV. Damn it!

China’s premier battery, mobile phone and now electric vehicle maker, BYD, announced yesterday the by this time next week, they’ll be the first automaker in the world to offer a mass-produced electric automobile.

Beating both the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf to market, the BYD F3DM promises to deliver about 60 miles of all-electric range and sells for about $22,000.

With the Chinese government already giving Cash-For-Clunkers-style tax cuts for consumers switching from gas to electric, it looks like the F3DM is here to stay. Expect to see them on US shores sometime in 2011. We can’t wait.