Chinese auto-manufacturer BYD (Build Your Own Dreams), which is partially owned by billionare finance guru Warren Buffet, has unveiled its new plug-in hybrid today. [1]

BDY's F3DM model can travel up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) on a single battery charge and it contains a back-up independent gas-powered motor. The big kicker is that its retail price is $22,000 US, making it a lot cheaper than General Motor's plug-in Chevy Volt [2] which will not be on the market for another couple of years and will cost around $40,000 US - and that's with government subsidies.

No wonder General Motors and the other US automakers are begging for a bailout, their competitors are kicking their butts.

Joe Romm at Climate Progress has an in-depth look at the BYD pug-in: World’s first mass-market plug-in hybrid is from … China, for $22,000? [3]