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11:11, 20-Oct-2017
BYD's electric midibus wins European order
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Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD has secured a Dutch contract to supply its new electric midibuses.
Connexxion, a public transport company in the Netherlands, announced on Thursday that it has ordered 21 units of the brand new electric midibus, which will make its debut at the Busworld Europe exhibition in Belgium in October.
The deal is believed to be one of BYD’s largest orders for heavy-duty pure electric midibuses in Europe and is certainly the first significant one to be placed by a Dutch operator.
Connexxion said the new model of midibus, a classification of single-decker minibuses that are larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker, will be put into service in North Holland, a province in the northwest of the Netherlands.
The new fleet will deliver daytime services in largely rural areas.
“We chose BYD due to its proven and leading electric bus and battery technology," said Eric van Eijndhoven, managing director of public transport for Connexxion. "We are delighted to be the first user of this important new model and know our passengers will enjoy the new levels of green performance the buses will deliver."
Isbrand Ho, BYD Europe's managing director, said: "This is great news which confirms the attractiveness of our new model which brings big bus features to the midibus sector.
“This is a real bus with all the reliable, heavy-duty features operators expect, but smaller than our other e-buses and of course totally emissions-free.”
The midibuses ordered by Connexxion have an overall length of 8.75m, two doors and have seats for 26 passengers (with a total capacity of about 50). Delivery and the start of operation are scheduled in the summer of 2018.
Busworld Europe, which was initiated in 1971, is the world's biggest B2B bus and coach exhibition. It will open in Kortrijk on Oct. 25.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency