BYD India, a subsidiary of the Warren Buffett-Backed EV maker BYD, recently celebrated eight years of successful EV business operations in India. At present，BYD electric buses have operated in over ten cities in India, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kerala, and even the route from Manali to Rohtang Pass, which makes BYD’s electric bus hit a new record by climbing high up to 3,980m in the Himalayas after overcoming challenging road and temperature conditions. With a total operation mileage of over 24 million kilometers in India, these BYD buses help reduce carbon emissions near to 25,000 tons, or equivalent to planting over 2 million trees, making BYD India the leader in the country’s electric bus market.
BYD India was registered in 2007 in Chennai, India, along with the construction of an electronics manufacturing plant. In early 2013, BYD India began to explore the electric vehicle market of India. On August 20, 2013, the first pure electric bus arrived in the Port of Chennai, making the BYD K9 the first pure electric bus in the history of Indian automotive industry. To ensure the success of the trial operations as well as gaining recognition from the local market, BYD India has continuously invested tremendous resources and manpower in the country.
Mr. Aiffy Liu,the Head of Electric Bus Business of BYD India, said: “Before the trial operations commenced, we deployed engineers to measure the height of each speed breaker, calculated the duration of each traffic light, counted the passenger flow at various times on the scheduled route and the stopping time of each station. Every detail is relevant in deciding whether the electric bus can run the entire route smoothly or the success of the trial operations.”
Thanks to the strong support from the government and STU (State Road Transport Undertakings), K9 completed an 88-day trial operation on the 335E bus line in Bangalore from February 27 to May 31 in 2014. After this successful operation, BYD India continued to carry out trial operations in other major cities, including New Delhi, Rajkot, and Hyderabad. During these trial operations, BYD India’s engineers continue to record important data from the fleet, and hence to evaluate the operating performance.
BYD India has been involved in various fields of industries, ranging from electronics manufacturing and the assembling of electric buses and power batteries. In the future, BYD India will continue to expand, for instance, to develop the fields of battery, energy storage, as well as electric passenger vehicles.
BYD India has gone from the manufacturing of electronic products to the manufacturing of electric buses and power batteries. In the future, BYD India will continue to cultivate in the fields of battery energy storage and electric passenger vehicles.
BYD India from electronics manufacturing, to electric buses, manufacturing of battery power, India will be in the future BYD battery energy storage, electric passenger cars continue to deep plowing.
Given the great response and desire for EV adoption in the country from the public and corporate sectors, BYD India is planning to launch its electric MPV for the B2B segment soon. This is a strategic decision taken by the company given the need and rising demand for EV vehicles in this important area. The decision to enter the B2B segment is also in line with BYD’s 7+4 electrification transport solutions goal, which is to bring about a cleaner global environment and assist India to achieve its ESG goals.
Speaking about the brand’s blueprint for the future, Mr. Ketsu Zhang, the Executive Director of BYD India Private Limited, said, “BYD India’s ambition has always been to be a part of ‘India’s Electric Revolution’ and offer pure electric solutions. We are eager to bring our advanced green technology to assist Indian businesses to achieve their EV goals. We have received tremendous response for our electric buses as well as forklifts, especially from the Indian public and B2B sector. Seeing this, we have decided to introduce more electric commercial vehicles to B2B segment starting Q4, 2021. Moving forward, we would love to be a part of every Indian consumer’s journey into electric vehicles, the plans for which are still in the pipeline stage.”
Now, BYD is successfully entering markets in many other countries across the Asia-Pacific, including South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Australia, etc. Globally, the brand’s pure electric vehicles cover over 300 cities, operating in more than 50 countries and regions.