Warren Buffett Watch
- Warren Buffett: Stocks Will Outperform Gold and Bonds .. and They're Safer 'By Far'
- 'Buffett Rule' Introduced in Senate But Passage Unlikely Amid GOP Opposition
- Warren Buffett Matching Illinois Teen's $300 Deficit Donation
- Warren Buffett Defends His Secretary From 'Ridiculous' Attacks
- Does Warren Buffett's Secretary Really Make Over $200,000?
- Warren Buffett's Secretary 'Excited' About State of the Union Role
- Warren Buffett Offers Millions in Deficit Donations, If ...
- Warren Buffett Sings and Plays Ukulele for Chinese New Year
- Warren Buffett Partied With Jay-Z Last Night
- 'Impressed' and 'Delighted' Warren Buffett Matches GOP Rep's Deficit Donations
RSS FEED
- New York Fashion Week Hits the Runway as Colors Pop
- Mulling Buffett's Stock Advice? Get in With REITs: Fund Managers
- LinkedIn Earnings Bode Well for Hiring and Social Media
- Top Five Mistakes to Avoid in Online Dating
- Victor Cruz ‘Understands’ Gisele's Super Bowl Frustrations
- Tamminen: The United States of India
- Unusual Volume: Taleo Jumps After Oracle's $1.9 Billion Offer
- Warren Buffett: Stocks Will Outperform Gold and Bonds .. and They're Safer 'By Far'
- So Now You Can’t Give Microsoft Away?
- Stocks Looking Past Europe for a New Driver of the Rally
- Citigroup Takes $50 Million Loss in Lending Rate Probe
- In Europe, Stagnation as a Way of Life
- Oil Demand to Grow With 'Two Speed Outlook: IEA
- The Secret Lives of Traders—Seeking the Next Hot Thing
- Strip Greenspan of His Knighthood: SocGen Strategist
- China Imports Slump, Raising Demand Concerns
- Get All the Latest Out of Europe Here
- Markets Finally Get Greek Deal —So Where's the Rally?
Volkswagen Turns to Warren Buffett's Electric Car Company In Scramble For Batteries
Text Size 
Executive Producer
Volkswagen says it has signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Chinese carmaker BYD to explore "options for partnership in the area of hybrids and electric vehicles powered by lithium batteries."
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought a 10 percent stake in BYD last fall, and Buffett has been personally promoting the company's efforts. (See last month's WBW post Fortune Puts Warren Buffett In "Car of the Future" Driver's Seat.")
A Volkswagen executive is quoted in a company statement as saying, "Volkswagen will consistently expand its successful ‘BlueMotionTechnologies’. Hybrids and electric vehicles will play an increasingly important role, of course. Particularly for the Chinese market, potential partners such as BYD could support us in quickly expanding our activities."
Dow Jones notes that many of the world's biggest automakers are scrambling to "secure supplies of batteries for alternative vehicles" and reports that BYD is also talking to Ford Motor [F
Loading...
()
] about "similar arrangements."
"One major obstacle in the race is that there's not enough capacity in the industry to produce lithium-ion batteries -- a factor that is pushing auto makers like Volkswagen to team up with multiple lithium-ion battery suppliers. Aside from BYD, Volkswagen already has signed letters of intent with Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. and Toshiba Corp., another Japanese battery producer."
BYD says it has developed new technology that makes its lithium-ion batteries safer and less expensive that other similar products.
Current Berkshire stock prices:
 |
Class A: [US;BRK.A
Loading...
()
]
Class B: [US;BRK.B
Loading...
()
]
For more Buffett Watch updates follow alexcrippen on Twitter.
Questions? Comments? Email me at
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
