BYD to build electric bus assembly plant in Ecuador
BYD Co. plans to assemble electric buses in Ecuador, part of the automaker's effort to maintain momentum in the fast-growing segment.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed with the Ecuadorean government, BYD will build a $60 million (414 million yuan) assembly plant in Guayaquil, a port city in southwestern Ecuador.
At full capacity, the plant will build up to 300 electric buses and trucks annually, BYD said. The company did not indicate when the factory will launch production.
BYD has had success finding customers for its electric buses in China and overseas. Last year, electric bus deliveries surged 121 percent from a year earlier to 10,000 vehicles.
The Guayaquil factory will be BYD's second electric bus assembly plant in South America; the Chinese carmaker operates a similar plant in Brazil.
The Guayaquil plant will be the company's fifth plant of its kind outside China.
BYD assembles electric buses in California and Scotland. It is constructing a similar plant in the northern Hungarian city of Komarom.
In March, the company disclosed plans to build a 10 million-euro electric bus factory in Allonne, a town in northern France's Hauts-de-France region.
Last year, BYD delivered 326,000 gasoline, battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide, up 1.8 percent. Those sales included 86,000 battery-electric EVs and plug-in hybrids.
BYD is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is partly owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett.
At full capacity, the plant will build up to 300 electric buses and trucks annually, BYD said. The company did not indicate when the factory will launch production.
BYD has had success finding customers for its electric buses in China and overseas. Last year, electric bus deliveries surged 121 percent from a year earlier to 10,000 vehicles.
The Guayaquil factory will be BYD's second electric bus assembly plant in South America; the Chinese carmaker operates a similar plant in Brazil.
The Guayaquil plant will be the company's fifth plant of its kind outside China.
BYD assembles electric buses in California and Scotland. It is constructing a similar plant in the northern Hungarian city of Komarom.
In March, the company disclosed plans to build a 10 million-euro electric bus factory in Allonne, a town in northern France's Hauts-de-France region.
Last year, BYD delivered 326,000 gasoline, battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide, up 1.8 percent. Those sales included 86,000 battery-electric EVs and plug-in hybrids.
BYD is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is partly owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett.
