A worker cleans an all-electric BYD e6 at a Beijing auto show this year. About 100 test vehicles will be put on the road as taxis in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen by June, with a launch on the west coast of the U.S. by the end of the year. A worker cleans an all-electric BYD e6 at a Beijing auto show this year. About 100 test vehicles will be put on the road as taxis in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen by June, with a launch on the west coast of the U.S. by the end of the year. (The Associated Press)

The first Chinese-made car to hit the U.S. market might be an all-electric minivan that bypasses gasoline technology altogether and could be a harbinger of the auto industry's new era.

BYD Inc., part owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., hopes to start selling its five-seat e6 on the west coast this year.

The e6, displayed at the recent Beijing auto show, is one of a series of "green" vehicles being developed by Chinese automakers that run on everything from batteries to solar panels and tiny wind turbines.

They lag Western rivals in technology but are working at a frenzied pace to ensure they'll be part of the green automobile age.