Madrid orders another 30 electric buses from BYD
BYD has been contracted by the public transport operator EMT Madrid to supply 30 more electric buses. The manufacturer from China already delivered 15 all-electric models to the Spanish capital in May.
The 30 purely electric 12-meter buses now on order are to arrive in Madrid next year. Empresa Municipal de Transportes, EMT for short, selected BYD on the basis of several operating parameters, these included the range, maintenance costs, and the manufacturer’s warranty.
The BYD electric buses are not new to the streets of Madrid – 15 electric buses from the Chinese electric vehicle giant have been silently serving the capital’s public transport users since 15 May. These e-buses replaced diesel buses and went into operation on line 52 between Puerta del Sol and Santamarca. BYD has said that the first order of 15 electric buses have been successfully in service despite restrictions due to the Corona pandemic.
BYD’s Director in Iberia, Joaquín Bellido, said, “Clearly, our first 15 BYD vehicles are performing well on EMT Madrid’s route 52, and the company is seeing the benefits of BYD electrification. This latest order for 30 eBuses will have an even greater impact on improving air quality in Madrid.” He emphasised, “We were pleased to supply the first batch of eBuses right on time,” and added that BYD are “fully committed to doing exactly the same in 2021”.
These electric bus orders are part of the plan to phase out all diesel buses in the fleet of EMT by 2022. By 2027, the operator’s bus fleet is to consist of one-third electric buses and two thirds gas-powered buses. At present, the EMT runs 2,100 vehicles which would mean they must purchase another 700 new buses over the next few years.
The public transport operator from Madrid relies on several bus manufacturers. In February EMT inaugurated the first so-called Línea Cero, which is exclusively operated by electric buses – with vehicles of the Spanish manufacturer Irizar. In March a second such “line zero” followed.
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