UPDATE 1-China's BYD showcases clean car tech for Buffett

* Billionaire backer in Shenzhen for BYD ceremonies

* BYD is a leader in innovation and technology - Buffett

* Buffett sitting on big returns from 2008 BYD investment

* Buffett, Bill Gates promoting philanthropy in China

(Adds Buffett quotes)

By Alison Leung

SHENZHEN, China, Sept 27 (Reuters) - China's BYD (1211.HK) rolled out the welcome mat for billionaire investor and backer Warren Buffett, flying him to its south China base on Monday for a series of events to showcase its clean car initiatives.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) has profited handsomely from a 10 percent stake it owns in BYD, which has jumped nearly seven times in value since Buffett purchased it for $230 million in 2008.

BYD invited Buffett to Shenzhen for a signing ceremony that will see the company build an energy storage power station with China Southern Power Grid, and a celebration to mark the sale of its 1 millionth car, local media reported.

"This is my first trip to Shenzhen but I promise you it won't be my last," Buffett told the audience at the ceremony.

Reuters could not attend the event due to restricted access but obtained a recorded speech of Buffett during the ceremony.

Buffett praised Shenzhen, a boomtown near Hong Kong, for taking the lead in using electric vehicles as taxis to help cut pollution.

"Each taxi will produce one-tenth pollution of the regular sedan. If we push more public transportation to change to EV, it will greatly help reduce pollution in the city," he said.

BYD shipped its first batch of all electric cars, E6, earlier this year and all of them were used as taxis in Shenzhen.

Buffett, the world's third-richest man with a fortune estimated by U.S. magazine Forbes at $47 billion, arrived in Shenzhen on a jet chartered by BYD, according to the China-based Phoenix net website, adding that BYD had spent several million yuan to bring Buffett to visit its China headquarters.

Buffett called BYD a young and promising company that will play a leading role in the future.

He is scheduled to visit BYD's plants in Shenzhen and the city of Huizhou on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Beijing where he will co-host a charity banquet with Microsoft (MSFT.O) founder Bill Gates to meet about 50 wealthy Chinese to share ideas about philanthropy, according to Xinhua.

His trip will end with a visit to the central China city of Changsha, where he will visit a BYD electric bus plant.

The trip by Buffett, 80, marks his first to BYD, almost two years after Berkshire's affiliate MidAmerican Energy bought a 10 percent stake in the company.

But BYD, whose name stands for Build Your Dreams, has seen its rising star sputter recently, prompting it to cut its annual sales target by 25 percent to 600,000 this year.

It is hoping to reignite growth in the fourth quarter with the launch of new models and the traditional peak season for car sales in China in September and October. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BYD sales, shares graphic: link.reuters.com/kam55p Graphic on world's, China's richest: link.reuters.com/xah55p ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

NEW ENERGY

MidAmerican was reported to be interested in BYD's research capability in rapid charge and rechargeable battery technology and power storage technology when it acquired its stake in 2008.

BYD's interim profit more than doubled to 2.42 billion yuan ($361 million) but the second quarter rose only 2.6 percent due to slower car sales.

China overtook the United States last year to become the world's largest car market, as sales soared under government incentives designed to boost spending during the global downturn. In recent months, however, sales growth has slowed as Beijing has taken steps to cool a racing economy.

BYD reported a 19 percent fall in August car sales, lagging a 18.7 percent rise in industry-wide shipments to dealers.

Sluggish sales in the past few months and rising inventory levels have forced several BYD dealers in Beijing and other areas to pull out of its sales network, local media have said.

BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu dismissed the reports as exaggerated but the car maker slashed its 2010 target by 25 percent in August. [ID:nTOE67303G] (Editing by Lincoln Feast and Erica Billingham) ($1=6.703 Yuan)