Tesla China Rival Backed By Warren Buffett And Cathie Wood Now Gets BlackRock's Attention

BYD Co BYDDY, a Chinese electric vehicle maker backed by veteran investor Warren Buffett and popular stock picker Cathie Wood, has caught the attention of the world’s largest asset management firm BlackRock Inc BLK, CnEVpost reported on Thursday, citing the EV maker.

What Happened: BYD and BlackRock held a conference call on April 12 and the asset management firm appears to have shown interest in investing in the Shenzhen-based company.

During the call, BlackRock fund manager Reid Menge and analysts including Tomas Hamudis, posed numerous questions to the BYD team about the EV maker’s technology, sales and design.

See Also: Warren Buffett-Backed Tesla Rival BYD Teases Upcoming Electric Sedan With More More Images, Specs

Why It Matters: New York-based BlackRock has been placing bets in the ECV sector and owns shares in Tesla Inc TSLA, a rival to BYD.

Shenzhen-based BYD earlier this month said it had stopped making gas-powered engines to focus on EVs.

Wood-led Ark Investment Management owned 478,831 shares, worth $28.6 million in BYD, prior to Wednesday’s trade. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) owned about 8% of the company until last year. 

Price Action: BYDDY stock closed 5.6% higher at $59.7 a share on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo courtesy: BYD