Alcoa says BYD is 'interested' in lightweight parts
- Source: Gasgoo.com
- [16:51 December 08 2010]
- Comments
Alcoa Inc., the largest US producer of aluminum, said Chinese car and battery maker BYD Co. is "enormously interested" in the company's lightweight automobile parts.
BYD, which is part-owned by Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathaway Inc., will meet with Alcoa next week to discuss auto parts, Alcoa Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld said on an earnings conference call yesterday.
"If you want to do light weighting and want to still have a secure, safe car, which people want, there is no way around light-weighting," Kleinfeld said on the call. "That's the reason why there are zillions of people knocking on our door and wanting to sit down with us."
China is a "big growth market" for New York-based Alcoa at a time when global aluminum demand is projected to fall 6 percent this year, Kleinfeld said on the call. Passenger car sales in China soared a record 90 percent in August as tax cuts and subsidies spurred demand, bringing the nation closer to overtaking the US as the world's largest auto market.
Kleinfeld announced the company was in talks to develop and supply metal for lightweight, energy-efficient vehicles in China while attending the World Economic Forum in Dalian last month. He didn't name any Chinese companies at that time.
Kleinfeld didn't provide additional details on the BYD meeting yesterday, and Kevin Lowery, an Alcoa spokesman, today said he didn't have additional details available.
Shenzhen-based BYD is China's biggest maker of rechargeable batteries and seventh-biggest carmaker. It has announced plans to start selling an electric-powered vehicle in the US next year.
(Bloomberg)
