BYD unveils world’s first pure electric double-decker – the iconic London red bus goes green

Londoners get their first opportunity today to witness a revolution in public transport – the world’s first emissions free double decker bus designed and produced by the world leader in pure electric vehicles – BYD.

Unveiled at Lancaster House in London as part of a celebration of UK-China business to mark the state visit to the UK by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the new bus is one of five to be operated by Metroline which will enter service on TfL’s (Transport for London) Route 98 before the end of the year.

“The Mayor of London challenged us that he did not believe an electric double decker was technically feasible but we took up the challenge and in less than two years created the bus you are seeing today”, said Isbrand Ho, Managing Director of BYD Europe. “This is a totally emissions free product which will give Londoners a world leading position in its efforts to improve air quality”.

The new bus can carry 81 passengers and is fully air conditioned. It will be able to complete up to 190 miles in city traffic conditions on a single charge, allowing recharging (which takes just four hours) using cheap off peak electricity.

London’s 9,000 strong bus fleet carries 6.5 million passengers a day, more demanding than Paris and New York combined. Two pure electric BYD single deckers have been in successful trial service with Go-Ahead on two TfL routes for almost two years and recently BYD secured an order for a further 51 single decker electric buses for operation by Go-Ahead.

Significantly, the order marks the first stage of a partnership between BYD and Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) – with BYD providing its battery and electric chassis technology and ADL its strong experience in bus bodybuilding – with final assembly of the complete buses being carried out at its plant in Falkirk, Scotland. The partnership was strengthened today with the signing of wide ranging agreements between the two companies (see separate news release).

Commenting on the new double decker, Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director for Surface Transport, said: “BYD is a big player in this market and has invested heavily in developing the battery technology and also battery management technology. BYD has excellent facilities which I have seen for myself for manufacturing and testing. BYD is a world leader and we hope its commitment will continue to grow and that we will see rising numbers of all-electric vehicles produced with longer ranges and lower unit costs”.

He added: “It is also exciting to see BYD work in partnership with Alexander Dennis who has a well-established reputation in London and Europe. So, this is an exciting time to be enhancing the fleet with rapid developments in battery technology and benefitting from BYD’s research and development in this area.”

About BYD

BYD Company Ltd. is the world’s largest maker of pure electric buses. Its vehicles have been trialled by 147 cities worldwide and proved to have significant operational cost benefits, as well as being totally environment friendly. Two of its single decks have been in service with Go-Ahead in London for 18 months and the successful in-service experience of these vehicles – which are able to complete a day’s route service on a single battery charge – has been instrumental in securing this latest contract. The world’s first pure electric double deck is also being developed by BYD and TfL recently announced that five will enter trial service with Metroline in London later this year.

BYD is one of China’s largest companies to have successfully expanded globally. Specializing in battery technologies, their green mission to “solve the whole problem” has made them industry pioneers and leaders in several High-tech sectors including High-efficiency Automobiles, Electrified Public Transportation, Environmentally-Friendly Energy Storage, Affordable Solar Power and Information Technology and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) services.

As the world’s largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, their mission to create safer and more environmentally  friendly  battery  technologies  has  lead  to  the  development  of  the  BYD  Iron Phosphate (or "Fe") Battery. This fire-safe, completely recyclable and incredibly long-cycle technology has become the core of their clean energy platform that has expanded into automobiles, buses, trucks, utility vehicles and energy storage facilities. BYD and all of their shareholders, including the great American Investor Warren Buffett, see these environmentally and economically forward products as the way of the future.

BYD has made a strong entrance to the North, Central and South American markets with their battery electric buses, and lineup of automobiles. Their mission lies not just in sales growth, but also in sociological integration and local job creation as they have poured incredible investments into developing offices, dealerships and manufacturing facilities in the local communities they now call home, truly a first for Chinese companies. For more information, please visit www.byd.com or www.facebook.com/bydcompany.

Further information from:

Penny Peng, at BYD on +31 -102070888 (office) 
penny.peng@byd.com

Martin Hayes, at BYD on +44 (0) 7836 21009 (mobile) 
martin@mchassociates.org