For so many years, we've been sending manufacturing China's way. Now the love is passing back over the Pacific Ocean.
State and local officials announced Friday that Chinese hybrid electric automaker BYD Co. will open its U.S. headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger headlined the City Hall press conference:
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I think it's nifty to offer the occasional unedited stretch of a politician speaking (as opposed to the short clips we are limited to when broadcasting), but for those of you who can't bear to listen to an audio recording of dubious quality from a podium further distorted by translation into an mp3:
"As I have always said, what is good for the environment is also good for the economy. And the reason why I'm mentioning that is because here is a good example how companies are coming to California because of our energy policy rather than what some of the greedy oil companies of Texas are claiming, that we should roll back our environmental progress that we are making here. But they're just jealous, because this is a nightmare for the Texan oil companies. This company is a nightmare for them. (Applause)"
The Los Angeles Business Journal reports China’s #4 automaker expects to create at least 150 jobs here by 2011.
The Shenzhen-based company aims to deliver e6 hatchbacks to fleet users in California late this year, before beginning retail sales in 2011. Also, Business Week notes, BYD will base its U.S. solar-panel and battery storage business in LA. Also, BYD is in talks to supply a 10-megawatt system to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
