BYD unveils all-electric coach
Battery specialist and auto manufacturer BYD has unveiled what it terms as the world's first long-range and fully electric coach, with production just around the cornerIT, battery, automotive and new energy specialist BYD recently unveiled what it claims is the world's first 100 per cent electric coach.
Revealed at the 2015 United Motorcoach Association Expo in New Orleans, USA, the BYD C9 is 40-foot, two-axle coach with seating for up to 47 people, and the company says it's able to travel at highway speed for up to 190 miles (304 kilometres).
The company says the C9 is the first of a trio of all-electric coaches planned for launch this year, with the C9 to be followed by the 45-foot, three-axle C10 and the 23-foot C6, the latter available in executive and transport configurations.
BYD Coach & Bus Vice President of Sales, Macy Neshati, said the company had taken the international market by surprise.
"It was exciting to walk around last year's American Public Transport Association's Expo in Houston and see so many reputable names displaying an electrified transit bus," she said.
"However, I don't think anybody thought they would see a viable electric coach solution for a few more years."
Ms Neshati says BYD is blazing a trail with its 100 per cent electric coaches.
"Last year, BYD pulled away from the competition in the transit space when it launched a 30-foot low-floor bus and a 60-foot articulated bus in addition to their 40-foot bus, making it the only electric bus builder with multiple offerings," she said.
"This year the launch of three coach buses puts BYD on a level with no other bus or coach OEM."
Founded in 1995, BYD is a Chinese firm that now employs nearly 190,000 people globally. Describing itself as the largest supplier of rechargeable batteries in the world, the company is a major player in the mobile phone market, while its purchase of Xi'an Tsinchuan Auto Co., Ltd in 2003 – now known at BYD Auto Co., Ltd – saw it enter the automotive space.
It released its first electric bus, the K9, in 2010.
Representatives of BYD Motors Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BYD Company Ltd, have said the company is already taking orders for all three of its new all-electric coach models.
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