New Electric Car Heading to North America

Chinese car manufacturer BYD is planning on launching a hotly anticipated new eco-friendly vehicle in the US in 2010.

Wang Chuanfu, chairman of the company, let slip the proposals in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

The firm is planning on financing the move from a shares sale and launching another production line for its automotive lithium-ion batteries in China.

BYD's five-seater e6 vehicle will be the first model to be offered in the US and will initially be available in a number of regions across the country before being launched nationwide.

He said to the news provider: "In the beginning, our target customers are going to be government agencies, utilities and maybe some celebrities."

The BYD e6 takes up to nine hours to reach a full charge when plugged into a domestic energy output.

Meanwhile, Japanese car manufacturer Honda is planning to launch a new battery-powered vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show in the autumn.

The new model will be available in the US in 2015.