In Italy there will soon be 19 BYD ebuses delivering zero emission transport on city streets. BYD has won the country’s first big tender for 12 metre pure electric buses which was awarded on 23 September. The contract won by BYD has a total value of over €10 million.
This tender is for long range, full size buses to operate on Piedmont Region’s urban transport networks. BYD will supply a fleet of 12m ebuses together with the provision of full service support for 10 years. This means that the BYD ebuses will begin serving the major cities of Piedmont from Summer 2017. The ebuses will connect the city centres with suburban areas.
The order confirms BYD’s position as the world leader in pure electric bus design and development – it has produced 10,000 vehicles so far. Its ebuses are built to the highest quality, in line with the rigorous standards of EU legislation and in compliance with the demands made by the demanding Italian market.
“Thanks to the vision of GTT to make Turin green this order ensures that Italy, together with the UK and France, is a top market for BYD in Europe”, said Isbrand Ho, Managing Director of BYD Europe. “We have consistently said that we would have ‘lift off’ in Europe when our order book exceeded 100 ebuses. These Italian orders bring the current total to over 100 units: we have truly arrived. What a way to end the year!”.
The tender announced by GTT (Gruppo Torinese Trasporti) in the Autumn of 2015 was the first modular tender for the purchase of large electric buses and now the most important and largest order 16 12m buses for operation in Turin has been won by BYD. A further three buses listed in the tender are expected to be ordered soon.
Several other Italian operators are showing an increasing interest in pure electric technology: a technology that is the natural, inevitable evolution of urban public transportation in the medium term. It is where BYD is the absolute global market leader. BYD confidently expects other cities to follow Turin’s lead.
BYD’s commitment to the Italian market is underlined by its recent partnership agreement with Italy’s leading energy company, Enel.
