Electric family car with longest range may also be the greenest

The BYD E6 may not have a name as evocative as the Nissan Leaf or the kerb appeal of the forthcoming electric Fiat 500, but if the performance figures being claimed by Chinese car builder are accurate, the family-sized electric car will, at 186 miles, have the longest range of any family-sized EV (electric vehicle) currently on sale.

The E6 also lays claim to being less environmentally-damaging electric vehicles on the market because it uses Fe batteries that contain no toxic electrolytes or heavy metals.

The car will cost Chinese motorists around £25,000 after a generous government subsidy of over £10,000.

Warren Buffett, the world’s richest man with a personal fortune estimated to be $62bn, has made a $230 million investment in the Chinese battery company BYD, which recently launched the world’s first massed-produced, plug-in hybrid car.

Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway has taken a 10 per cent stake in BYD as part of a move into green technologies.

Who are BYD?

BYD (it stands for ‘buy your dream’) is the Chinese battery company responsible for the world’s first massed-produced, plug-in vehicle on the market.

The BYD F6 can run on a conventional petrol engine or for 62 miles on battery power alone. The batteries can be topped up via a household electrical supply Conventional hybrid cars use a petrol or diesel engine to charge their batteries.

The firm says the F6 model is due to be launched throughout America and Europe in 2011.

The car is on sale for 150,000 yuan (£14,000) and has beaten a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius to market.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “This investment by Warren Buffett sends a clear message that the smart money is in green technology.”

Grants for electric and hybrid cars

As part of its planned £20bn spend on alternative-fuel vehicles before 2012, the Chinese government is to offer cash rebates to buyers of green cars and buses in thirteen of its largest cities.

The rebates will operate on a sliding scale and will be worth from the equivalent of £5,000 (50,000 Yuan) for a small hybrid city car up to more than £60,000 (600,000 Yuan) for a fuel cell bus.