Chinese Cleantech Wave Crashing On American Shores

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Chinese electric car and battery company BYD (OTC: BYDDF) has new plans to set roots on U.S. soil, becoming the latest in a wave of cleantech firms to do the same.

Warren Buffett made a big splash when Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) purchased a 10% stake in BYD in the fall of 2008. The Wall Street Journal notes that Buffett’s investment “helped underpin the company’s ambition to sell cars in developed markets such as the U.S.” According to reports this morning, that goal is coming closer to reality, as BYD Chairman Wang Chaunfu said the company is still set to launch its E6 full electric vehicle in the States during 2010. According to The Journal, Chuanfu also said the company plans to open a U.S. sales headquarters to prepare for the E6 launch. The Los Angeles Business Journal noted last week that L.A. could be the location of BYD’s North American base.

It will be interesting to see how The Street reacts to a larger BYD presence in the U.S. Today’s reports aren’t doing much to move the stock, although it remains one of just a few Energy Storage and Battery Technology Stocks Index components to stay in positive territory for the session.

BYD’s announcement is just the latest in a wave of “green” Chinese companies expanding onto U.S. turf. Yingli Green Energy (YGE) set up two U.S. headquarters to capitalize on opportunities on both coasts last year. Fellow Chinese solar giant Suntech Power Holdings (STP) announced that Arizona would be home to its U.S. headquarters in November, and wind energy player A-Power Energy Generation Systems (NADSAQ: APWR) also announced plans to build an American production facility in the fall of 2009.

Elsewhere in the battery sector, reports of analyst comments on contract concerns related to A123’s (AONE) Chrysler deal have drummed up some bearish sentiment. Last week CNBC stock picking guru Jim Cramer said, “I am not endorsing the stock” after quipping that “AONE” is steak sauce in the rapid-fire lightning round of his Mad Money television show. Today shares are slipping by -5%.

As of this writing, the Energy Storage and Battery Technology Stocks Index is one of the 60 worst performing tickerspy Indexes over the last month.

Investors can track the Energy Storage and Battery Technology Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Tags: AONE, APWR, BRK-A, BRK-B, BYDDF, STP, YGE