BYD Announces First Factory in Brazil For 1,000 Electric Buses Annually

BYD selected the city of Campinas (in the São Paulo region of Brazil) for its latest factory in which roughly 450 new local jobs should be created.

The Chinese company will open its first South American manufacturing facility in 2015 and announced that both "world's only long range pure electric transit bus" and " first fire safe and recyclable Iron-Phosphate battery packs" will be assembled on site.
Maximum production capacity in the first year will amount to 1,000 electric buses! This is about three a day on average.

R$ 200,000,000 (or nearly $90M) will be invested in this project.

BYD Brazil's General Manager Tyler Li said:

"In the first year of operation (starting in 2015), the plant will have a maximum production capacity of 1,000 electric buses as well as all of their batteries. This is the first stage of manufacturing expansion."

As this is just the first stage, in addition to the 32,000 m2 and 20,000 m2 manufacturing facilities on campus, BYD would like to open a Research & Development center for their Photovoltaic, Smart-Grid and LED Lighting businesses.

BYD Founder and Chairman, Mr. Wang Chuanfu stated:

"BYD chose Campinas because of this city's spirit of innovation and their goal of building a cleaner society. Along with the buses and batteries, our dream is to build solar panels and energy storage systems here to help the region achieve their zero emissions goals."

The Mayor of Campinas, Jonas Donizette pointed out:

"BYD fits very well in our City's quest to attract investments, it is a company that produces goods and technologies related to the use of renewable energies, and also operates in key segments for the future of cities with sustainable urban mobility plans."

Tthe President of Invest Saint Paul, Luciano Almeida adds:

"In February of this year, we visited BYD in China and observed cutting edge technology and the quality of their products. The arrival of BYD in the State strengthens the role of St. Paul to always be at the forefront of new technologies."

Source: Inside EVs

BYD and New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Complete Successful Pilot Test of BYD Electric Bus

BYD and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the conclusion of a pilot test on a BYD 40-foot electric bus, held from Aug 25th to Oct 25th.

It took two months for the final report data to be summarized for distribution.

Kevin Ortiz MTA’s spokesman stated:
“The general purpose of the program was to evaluate how an electric bus could perform in New York City’s heavy traffic, whether the electric bus can meet the twin challenges of operating in the stop-and-go traffic of Manhattan while maintaining high levels of passenger comfort and operational performance”



Tests were carried out on several different routes throughout Manhattan, including M20, M42, M104, M98, M60 and Bx27 and the ebus covered total distance of 1,481 miles. Typical range was 140-155 miles and charging was done at night in 3-4 hours.

In the press release we read the following:
“The BYD all-electric bus “performed excellent” with an average battery consumption of 1.4 miles per % SOC, translating to over 140 miles per full charge in heavy traffic. The average speed of electric bus was ~4 miles per hour under Manhattan’s heavy traffic.”

“After two months of running, the electric bus’s average battery duration was 0.3 hours per % SOC, translating to 30 hours of operation per full charge, as opposed to other competitors that require en route recharging every 2-3 hours during peak-rate times. These uninterrupted operational hours are more meaningful in a busy city like New York, as routes and speeds travelled tend to be short in distance but long in duration.”

BYD states 30 hours of operation per full charge. However, we must remember that in the winter, with heat on, this time will drop significantly. Just 10 hours of using a 10 kW heater (we don’t know what is the heating power is in the ebus) would consume 100 kWh, which is one-third of the battery pack size and this does not include drivetrain consumption. But in moderate temperatures, 30 hours could be achievable.

Darryl Irick, President of MTA Bus and SVP, MTA NYC Transit’s Department of Buses remarked:
“This test continues the MTA’s commitment to examine newer, cleaner and more efficient bus propulsion technologies.”

The Chinese manufacturer listed some advantages of its electric buses:

BYD Electric buses provide several advantages over conventionally powered buses;

- Improved air quality and reduced green-house-gas (GHG) emissions.

- BYD buses that are connected to power-interfaces can dispatch power back to the grid (bi-directionally) in case of an emergency or for optimized grid utility.

- BYD buses do not have an internal combustion engine or transmission and many other conventional components, therefore much less has to be replaced or refurbished every year reducing maintenance costs (and labor) significantly.

- Regenerative braking recovers braking energy, recharges batteries and reduces normal brake-pad wear and maintenance.

- Expected operating-cost-per mile of an electric bus is ~$0.20 to $0.30, compared to $1.30 per mile on an equivalent diesel or natural-gas powered bus in New York.


Source : Inside EVs