The "ferrous oxide" battery technology developed by BYD, if it lives up to their own somewhat fantastic claims of 250 miles on a full charge, is far superior to anything currently being delivered or promised by an automaker. In fact, the closest anyone has come to offering similar technology is a claim by Chrysler regarding their Dodge Circuit EV. In their press release they state the EV should achieve "zero tailpipe emissions and 150-200 mile driving range" if it comes to production.

While BYD hopes to sell their F3DM, F6DM and E6 vehicles into North America, the company has admitted they're happy to license their technology to automakers. We spoke with David Sokol, CEO of MidAmerican Holding Company, the Warren Buffett-owned subsidiary who purchased a 10% stake in BYD based on their capabilities. As MidAmerican is one of the largest commercial electric suppliers and biggest holders of renewable energies, the partnership with BYD made sense for MidAmerican.

But in speaking with Mr. Sokol he was frank in explaining the partnership which will bring BYD technology to the market the quickest is one with another automaker and, according to him, they've been speaking with domestic and foreign companies for approximately four months. They won't divulge who they're speaking with, but we'd like to point out Chrysler President Tom Lasorda was seen hanging around the BYD announcement this morning.

There are two main reasons for doing this. First, another manufacturer would be able to utilize their own existing production capacity and dealer network to create and package the cars. Second, as Sokol admitted, the fit-and-finish of their vehicles is probably the largest shortcoming. This was highlighted by the fact they had him doing interviews in front of a sign for BYD with the company's "Build Your Dreams" tagline written out in script with the first "r" missing. Our awesome videographer Kyle Conner fixes it for him at one point, which is hilarious.

While we can't be for sure whose dream it is to have BYD design them a battery pack, but we've already described the vehicle from Chrysler as fantasies.

The E6 features a far more advanced exterior design than most of BYD's models and, in pure electric mode, can carry five passengers an estimated 249 miles. By comparison, Ford's long-range electric car planned for 2011 goes 100 miles on a single charge. Like a conventional electric car, it can juice up in approximately eight hours with a conventional charge. With a high-capacity power charger it will be able to achieve a full charge in three hours. Amazingly, at a fast-charge station the car can quick-charge to 50% in ten minutes, allowing someone to travel an estimated 120 miles.

The BYD battery pack is capable of producing at minimum approximately 101 HP but, with a full battery pack and larger motor, an estimated 269 HP. The full configuration will, according to the company, propel the vehicle to 60 MPH in less than eight seconds with a top speed of approximately 100 MPH.

The E6 concept remains a concept, though one BYD seems intent on producing.