BYD raises capacity, adds new electric models at California bus plant
BYD Co. has hiked the annual production capacity at a California electric bus assembly plant to 1,500 units -- up from 300 previously -- to meet growing demand in North America.
The latest expansion will allow the factory to build electric trucks and special purpose vehicles, as well as buses.
The addition of a new wing has nearly quadrupled the plant’s floor space to 450,000 square feet. The factory now employs 800 workers, up from 300, with plans to hire 400 more.
The Lancaster, Calif., plant, which opened in 2013, is BYD's first overseas EV assembly plant. It has delivered 137 electric buses in the United States and Canada.
Deliveries this year total 75 buses, and customers have ordered 300 more.
BYD assembles buses and other EVs in China, California, Scotland and Brazil, and is building plants in Hungary, France and Ecuador.
BYD, based in the south China city of Shenzhen, is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is partly owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett.
The addition of a new wing has nearly quadrupled the plant’s floor space to 450,000 square feet. The factory now employs 800 workers, up from 300, with plans to hire 400 more.
The Lancaster, Calif., plant, which opened in 2013, is BYD's first overseas EV assembly plant. It has delivered 137 electric buses in the United States and Canada.
Deliveries this year total 75 buses, and customers have ordered 300 more.
BYD assembles buses and other EVs in China, California, Scotland and Brazil, and is building plants in Hungary, France and Ecuador.
BYD, based in the south China city of Shenzhen, is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is partly owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett.
