Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Chinese Car Manufacturer to Locate North American Headquarters in California
Decision Will Initially Create up to 150 Jobs and Bolster California’s Green Economy
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and officials from Chinese manufacturer BYD Auto Company Limited (BYD) to announce that BYD, a leader in electric and hybrid vehicles and other renewable energy products, will locate its North American headquarters in Los Angeles. BYD is the first major Chinese mass-production automobile company to locate a headquarters in the U.S. Its decision to choose California was based largely on the Golden State’s commitment to nation-leading green policies that create long-term demand for renewable energy automobiles and products. The decision is expected to initially create up to 150 jobs in California.
“California’s market-friendly energy and environmental policies are playing a vital role not only in making California more energy secure but also in bringing companies like BYD to our state,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Like California, BYD is a company of firsts. They are leading China and the rest of the world into a cleaner, more sustainable future with their automobiles and renewable energy products while creating jobs and saving consumers money. I welcome BYD with open arms and look forward to growing California’s relationship with China to mutually benefit the environment and economy.”
BYD’s Los Angeles headquarters will be responsible for sales, marketing, and research and development for its automobiles and energy products, which include solar panels, LED lighting systems and home and grid level energy storage units through BYD’s unique iron-phosphate batteries. Like California, BYD has been a leader in green; selling the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle, the BYD F3DM, in 2008 and introducing the first electric car independent of specialized charging stations in the world, the e6, in 2010 to the city of Shenzhen, China.
Governor Schwarzenegger has developed a strong relationship between California and China, focused on protecting the environment and growing the economy. From collaborating on the Green Chemistry Initiative to monitoring and reducing air pollution and sharing energy-efficiency techniques, California is working closely with China to share environmentally-friendly and economy-building policies. BYD’s decision to locate its North American headquarters and create jobs in California further strengthens this green relationship.
The Governor has made creating a consistent, long-term and market-friendly energy policy in California a number one priority. And that commitment is paying off, with new products and services making for more jobs and a more energy-secure, environmentally-healthy California. But Governor Schwarzenegger is not standing still. He has taken recent action to encourage more green companies such as BYD to invest, stay and expand in California including signing SB 71 on March 24, which created a sales tax exemption for the purchase of green-tech manufacturing equipment in California and AB 510 on February 26 to raise the net energy metering requirement from 2.5 percent to 5 percent, giving home and business owners continuing incentives to invest in solar power. These recent actions augment the other significant and nation-leading policies that have been implemented by Governor Schwarzenegger. Some of the most notable are:
- Million Solar Roofs Initiative: The Governor’s $2.9 billion incentive plan for home and building owners who install solar electric systems, now known as the California Solar Initiative, will lead to one million solar roofs in California by the year 2018, provide 3,000 megawatts of clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3 million tons.
- Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32): AB 32 established a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by 2020.
- Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS): In September 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an Executive Order directing the California Air Resources Board to adopt regulations increasing California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 33 percent by 2020.
- Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS): California’s LCFS requires fuel providers to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels sold in the state, dramatically expanding the market for alternative fuels. To start, the LCFS will reduce carbon content in all passenger vehicle fuels sold in California by at least 10 percent by 2020 and more thereafter.
- Automobile Emissions Standards: After years of fighting the federal government for the authority to implement our greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted California’s waiver and the Obama Administration adopted it for the country.
