BYD India, the Indian subsidiary of BYD, one of China's largest privately-owned enterprises has announced its plans to launch its electric MPV for the B2B segment soon. The company recently completed eight years of operations in the country, and is buoyed by the response it has received for its buses.
Entering the B2B segment is a strategic decision by BYD India, and is in line with its 7+4 electrification transport solutions goal, which is to bring about a cleaner global environment and assist India to achieve its ESG goals.
BYD India’s ambition has always been to be a part of ‘India’s Electric Revolution’ and offer pure electric solutions, said Ketsu Zhang, Executive Director, BYD India. “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,” Zhang said.
He further said the company would love to be a part of every Indian consumer’s journey into EVs, the plans for which are still in the pipeline stage.
BYD India has also committed to continue expanding its presence in the market, including developments in the fields of battery, energy storage, as well as electric passenger vehicles.
Eight years of operation
BYD India has been operating its electric buses in over 10 Indian cities, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and in Kerala. The BYD K9, which landed in Chennai on August 20, 2013, is claimed to be the first pure electric bus to be launched in India. In these eight years, the company claims to have operated over 24 million km in India, thus reducing an estimated 25,000 tonne of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to planting over two million trees.
In October 2016, a BYD K7 bus became the first pure electric bus to mount the Rohtang Pass with an altitude of 3,980 metre. Aiffy Liu, Head of Electric Bus Business, BYD India said the company 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 before the trial operations commenced.
“Every detail is relevant in deciding whether the electric bus can run the entire route smoothly or the success of the trial operations,” he said.