(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD has established a new battery research institute in the Chinese city of Chongqing.
Dubbed the Chongqing Fudi Battery Research Institute Co., Ltd., the company is owned by Fudi Industrial Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BYD.
The institute has registered capital of 100 million yuan ($15.467 million).
BYD’s Fudi Industrial Co., Ltd, currently has five companies under its umbrella, including Fudi Vision, Fudi Battery, and the company supplies parts not only to BYD, but also to its competitors, including Great Wall, Changan, Dongfeng and Chery.
A Profitable EV Company
In the last six months, BYD has reported strong sales of its vehicles, including the Han luxury car, which debuted in July. The Han is outselling its rivals from both Nio and Xpeng Motors.
BYD’s Han EV’s long-range pure electric version has a single-charge range of 605 kilometers (376 miles) based on the NEDC test cycle.
In other news, BYD announced in December that it received a large order to deliver another 406 pure electric buses to the Colombian capital of Bogota. The order was just weeks after it completed the delivery of 470 pure electric buses to the city.
BYD and Berkshire Hathaway
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $230 million has grown in value over thirty-fold.
© 2021 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.