China's leading electric vehicle maker BYD said that the company will deliver more electric buses to Spain and buy more products from Spanish companies.
Wang Chuanfu, chairman of BYD, made the comments in an interview in Madrid as he attended the inaugural ceremony of the China-Spain Business Advisory Board Tuesday night, saying that it will become a major platform for business cooperation between the companies.
In 2014, BYD started its work in Spain with a pilot electric bus system. Now the company's electric buses run in several Spanish cities such as Sant Cugat, Valencia, Badalona and Badajoz.
File photo of BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu./VCG Photo
The company has won the order of 25 e-buses in Spain, accounting for 16 percent of the total e-bus market. It is also the only Chinese e-bus maker with Spanish business. Wang expected BYD will get more orders for its e-buses in the country as Spain's economy continues its recovery.
"The world is facing unprecedented challenges as air pollution and traffic congestion have become common problems for major cities in the world," said Wang, adding that BYD's operations in Spain have gained achievements in cutting urban air pollution.
He believed that as EU countries face pressure to cut emissions, environment-friendly public transport systems are needed. In this field, there is huge potential for China and Spain to work together.
The company operates almost 400 e-buses in the EU and is expected to reach 800 in 2019 and further double the number again in 2020, according to Wang.
In the meantime, Wang said the company will also expand its imports from Spain, buying more services and products from Spanish companies and strengthening cooperation with its Spanish partners in a bid to achieve mutual benefit.
BYD is cooperating with Spanish bus and coach services company ALSA, which runs hundreds of taxis in China with BYD's electric vehicles. It purchases tens of million yuan of automotive spare parts from Spanish company Gestamp's plants in China on a yearly basis.
As cooperation deepens and business expands, BYD expects that ALSA will run more BYD electric vehicles taxis in China and its purchase from Gestamp will reach 200 million yuan in two years.
"Trade and business relations are two-way and mutually beneficial," said Wang.