Saturday 24 October 2009

Investment: Electric Cars vs Future -- Part 1


Sorry about the late posting, I got one wisdom tooth removed last Saturday and have lost a lot of blood, so here's the new posting you have been waiting for.

Electric Cars vs Future -- Part 1
Who wants MyCar?

When Warren Buffett bought China's electric car & battery company BYD (1211.HK) October yesteryear at around $6, I actually wanted to buy it too (just for the sake of following), but the day the stock resume trading the next day, it went as high as $8, so I thought, okay, I should wait, and then, $11 the day after that, and it was "au voir" to the single digit price tag ever after!

Silly or not? I guess I was, but who can foresee the future this far? Even long before BYD could sell a single car, the price had hit as high as $60+. You can call this irrational, and I guess Buffett himself will think this is totally insane, but he lives his reputation higher than the price of his stock, so he won't sell the shares anytime near.

But is BYD really such a potential company? Well, before Buffett had invested in it, "No"; now, "Yes". He makes all the difference in the world! I guess nobody really even care much about the company BYD in the past as it was mainly manufacturing batteries for mobile phones, and even when it had started producing car batteries and "R&D-ing" their own cars, there are
a lot of other stronger, richer, better alternatives in Japan and USA, maybe even in China! But where his finger points, it turns to gold.

I missed the chance, what can I say?

Well, here's what I want to say, since car manufacturing industry is not exactly an industry which has a high "barrier to entry" (as Buffett puts it), small companies can hit big time when standing up against the very large ones, as long as they have quality to beat the big boys!

Heard of the first Hong Kong electric car, MyCar, co-developed by EuAuto Technology and Hong Kong Polytechnic University? If not, read this.

Now if you ask me, I will NOT invest in this car or this company. Why? It doesn't look cool, thus doesn't attract mainland billionaires. It doesn't look comfortable because it is so crammed! It is so expensive, it runs so slow, one of them doesn't even have air-conditioning which is definitely a killer in a short-winter Hong Kong.

At the same time when Hong Kong politicians are celebrating their own minor success, financial magazines are already having a real buzz about a USA small company of the same kind. Without further ado, Watch the follow 3 movie clips!!!

MEET TESLA's ROADSTER!!!



http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/04/08/automobiles/1194839344102/start-up-electric-car-companies.html

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x25986_tesla-electric-car_auto




Now, MyCar anybody? That will be your car. I like the Roadster!

Resources:
As listed above.


Homework: Comment on what you think about electric cars.