Monday, May 17, 2010

Li Lu on BYD



“BYD is really running on all cylinders,” says Li Lu, a BYD investor and money manager who brought the company to the attention of Berkshire vice chairman Charles Munger several years ago. Munger took the idea to Buffett and to MidAmerican chairman David Sokol, who now sits on BYD’s board.


“The big challenge now is to bring down the initial cost,” Li Lu told me. Eventually, BYD would like to sell the car for about the same price as conventional vehicles, and win over auto buyers by offering them lower operating costs and higher performance. “The only way to conquer this market is to provide a product that is comparable at the beginning and superior in the end,” he said.


“There are not many in the world that have comparable experience and expertise,” Li Lu says. “They seem to have a commanding lead right now.” The BYD technology is super safe, its batteries will last a long time and they will cost less than competitors, he said.


All that remains to be seen, of course. But BYD has not one but three opportunities to change the world–with its electric cars, its rooftop solar panels with battery storage and with large-scale batteries that could be used by electric utilities to store solar or wind power.
If BYD succeeds in even one of those businesses—let alone all three—it will become one of the most important clean tech companies in the world.






李路充满感情地回忆道:“从2004年到现在,近六年的时间,芒格先生既是我的老师、是我最大的投资人,同时也是我的好朋友。我觉得自己非常非常的幸运。”
李路说:“对我来讲,这是一段很愉快的经历,我介绍芒格和巴菲特先生认识中国比亚迪,帮助他们谈判,自己也成为大股东,我非常高兴能够促成这件事情。这项合作不仅对伯克希尔和比亚迪是很好的投资,成就了中国和美国的具有重大意义的价值投资,同时比亚迪创新的技术对人类所面临的能源挑战也是一个非常好的解决方案。”


李路介绍说:“比亚迪从开始创业就开始赚钱,上市的时候借了一笔钱,但是当时盈利状况已经非常的好。比亚迪的盈利能力非常强,尽管中国汽车行业内有些数据不公开,但是我猜想比亚迪应该是中国汽车行业盈利水平是最高的,如果说比亚迪在全球的汽车行业中盈利水平是最高的,我也不会惊讶。”


据李路介绍,比亚迪平均每年销售额都以70%的速度增长,2009年已经达到400多亿这样的规模,创造了全世界少有的企业成就。


李路说:“我们很快会看到比亚迪新能源技术、太阳能技术、醇电站技术,三者结合所提供的服务,这恰恰是能够解决人类面临的石化能源危机的最佳的、全套的方案。”


李路说:“比亚迪公司是所我看到的最有可能成为代表中国制造向中国创造转向的企业。如果比亚迪在绿色技术的创新上再次成功的话,这不仅对中国未来的经济发展能够解决最大的瓶颈问题,也会对全球经济面临最大的挑战提供全套的方案,更会逆转全球气候变暖的趋势,使得人类在地球上的“租期”可以持续延长。”


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