BYD to boost electric bus production in India
BYD plans to increase the production capacity for electric buses in India from currently 2,000 to 5,000 per year in cooperation with their partner Olectra. In addition, the order books for the T3 electric delivery van in India are to be opened soon.
According to BYD, it intends to sell 10,000 units of the T3 in the next two to three years. Currently, orders for 200 vehicles have already been logged, including 50 units ordered by fleet operator Eto Motors – with the prospect of a much larger follow-up order. The T3 will probably be manufactured in the BYD plant near Chennai.
As the managing director of BYD India, Ketsu Zhang, recently confirmed, the company also wants to massively increase the local production of electric buses in India. “The BYD ‘7+4 Full Market EV Strategy’ encompasses most forms of ground transportation as well as every aspect of daily transportation needs. It comprises seven conventional types of transportation (passenger vehicles, taxis, buses, coaches, urban logistics vehicles, urban construction vehicles, and urban sanitation vehicles) and four specialised types of transportation (vehicles for mining, ports, airports, and warehousing). Our ambition is to introduce the complete ‘7+4’ solution into the Indian market,” said Zhang.
BYD currently produces around 2,000 electric buses in India per year and aims to expand to a total of 5,000 units per year. In India, the Chinese group has entered into a joint venture with the Hyderabad-based company Olectra. Together, the two companies manufacture the nine-metre long BYD K7 E-bus and the twelve-meter K9 version. Both buses have a range of up to 250 kilometres.
India plans to heavily lean on electric buses for their transport transition strategy. The government awarded subsidies for about 5,600 electric buses last summer 64 cities. In June, Olectra-BYD confirmed that a second electric bus factory is to be built in India by 2021. An exact location was not yet known at that time, but will probably be located in a North Indian federal state. Originally, the second plant was planned in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, but the company was unable to reach an agreement with the local government.
The joint venture’s previous plant is located in the state of Telangana, whose capital is Hyderabad. The BYD plant near Chennai, where the T3 is to be built, does not belong to Olectra BYD, but to BYD India.
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