AUTOSHOW-BYD says open to licensing car batteries

By Chang-Ran Kim and Kevin Krolicki

DETROIT, Jan 11 (Reuters) - China's BYD Co (1211.HK) is open to licensing its low-cost ferrous-iron electric car battery and has had interest from Japanese, European and U.S. carmakers, its chairman said on Sunday.

"We would consider it, and many have shown interest in cooperating in the field," Wang Chuan-Fu, chairman of the Hong Kong-listed battery maker, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.

"Right now we're just limited by resources."

BYD Auto, set up in 2003 by the BYD Group, has used its expertise in batteries to develop rechargeable electric vehicles that it expects to eventually compete with General Motors Corp's GM.N and Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) proposed plug-in hybrids.

BYD gained international fame in September thanks to a surprise endorsement by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), through unit MidAmerican Energy, agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in BYD for $230 million.

The Chinese automaker is aiming to launch a plug-in hybrid model, the F6DM, and the E6 all-electric car, in the United States and Europe in 2011.

Wang said initial sales would include fleet sales to corporations, utilities and municipal governments.

BYD launched the F3 "Dual-Mode", or F3DM model, last month, expecting to sell 50 units to the Shenzhen municipal government and China Construction Bank (0939.HK).