BYD launches two new electric buses in China

BYD launched two new electric buses models, the C6 and C8, in China last month, according to Automotive News China, citing Beijing-based website CVNews. The C6 is a 22-seater and boasts a driving range of 210km on one charge. The C8, on the other hand, is a 45-seater with a driving range of up to 170km. Both the buses are powered by BYD's lithium iron phosphate batteries. There is no information on when the buses will be operational and what routes would they cover.

Significance: The latest products take BYD's electric bus offerings in China to four. The K9 and C9 bus models are already operational in China. Although the K9 is a 32-seater with a range of 250km, the C9 is 53-seater with a 300km driving range on a fully charged battery. Electric buses are a crucial part of BYD's strategy to gain a strong foothold in the public transport industry at a global level. According to a report by Bloomberg earlier this year, the Chinese manufacturer has sold more than 5,000 electric buses globally, of which about 50 are in operation in the United States. In the previous month, BYD reportedly announced that it plans to double the number of new energy vehicles (NEVs) it produces in the latter half of the 2015 in China on the back of high sales (see China: 9 September 2015: BYD to boost EV and PHEV production in H2 on back of sales – report). BYD has invested heavily in research and development of NEVs, and in the coming years it aims to be the market leader in this sector (see China: 4 June 2015: Chinese automaker BYD confirms plans to raise USD2.5 bil. through private share issue). According to data released by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), BYD's first-half 2015 market share of the country's NEV sector was 29.8%.