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BYD and Hertz Partner to Bring the First EV Rentals to China


byd (select to view enlarged photo)

SHENZHEN, China--August 25, 2011: BYD, the largest Chinese domestic auto brand and The Hertz Corporation, the world"s largest general use car rental brand, today announced a strategic partnership to promote new energy applications to propel the development of the EV markets in China. In addition, as part of the partnership, Hertz will rent BYD"s e6 electrical vehicle (EV) to Chinese consumers, municipalities and government agencies. Mark Frissora, Chairman and CEO of Hertz stated, "Hertz is once again first to market with innovation. We are the first global car rental company to offer EVs in China for businesses and consumers to rent. With our partnership with BYD, we can offer a complete solution including rental and sales -- another first for our industry." Chuanfu Wang Chairman and CEO of BYD stated, "Innovation is a consistent theme for Hertz and innovation is also the core of BYD's continuous fast growth -- pure EVs for car rental in China is an innovative step for new energy industry development. This joint innovation for our two large enterprises in the field of pure EVs will certainly bring "green" transportation to the forefront for the world to admire."

“Hertz is once again first to market with innovation. We are the first global car rental company to offer EVs in China for businesses and consumers to rent. With our partnership with BYD, we can offer a complete solution including rental and sales -- another first for our industry.”

As part of this agreement, the BYD"s e6, a 5-seat, pure-electric vehicle with the driving range of more than 186 miles (240 km) will be introduced into the Hertz China"s rental fleet making BYD"s e6 the first pure EV for rent in China. The core technology of BYD"s e6 is BYD"s internally developed Iron-Phosphate or "FE" battery technology. The FE battery boasts the highest safety, longest service life and most environmentally-friendly rechargeable chemistry (containing no heavy metals or toxic/flammable electrolytes). The BYD e6 has been in use in Shenzhen taxi fleets for over a year now -- the first fleet of 50 e6 taxis have now surpassed 2.5 million cumulative fleet miles (4 million km) without energy or range degradation and while being fast-charged daily the entire length of service. 300 more BYD e6s were added to these fleets in July for the 2011 Shenzhen Universiade and are performing flawlessly.

BYD"s e6 will serve in Hertz"s fleet for multiple groups of Hertz consumers including urban drivers, university students, travelers, and corporations, while bringing them a brand-new environmentally-friendly, EV driving experience.