BYD: Road to Dominance of Electric Vehicle/Transport

[tonyget]

Antelope Valley Transit Authority: new electric BYD bus is performing better than advertised !

Lancaster - The Antelope Valley Transit Authority's (AVTA) new electric BYD bus is performing better than advertised! AVTA and BYD operators put the electric bus to the test this weekend during a 24-hour marathon ride that looped from Rosamond to Palmdale a total of 18 times. The BYD bus managed to travel an astounding 746 miles over the 24-hour period, operating in three shifts. Each shift logged between 240 and 256 miles before recharging the battery.

"This is tremendous news and it proves the BYD electric bus can be a transit work horse like its diesel counterpart," stated Board Chair Norm Hickling. "We are looking forward to putting our electric buses into service on local transit routes to further evaluate their true performance under all weather and road conditions."

This weekend's 24-hour marathon began on Saturday at 1:04 in the afternoon starting from the BYD factory in Lancaster. AVTA's electric bus was loaded with 5,250 lbs. of sand bags to simulate the weight of 35 passengers. The bus traveled a total of 240 miles before its first battery charge, which is nearly 100 miles more than BYD advertises and 30 miles more than is needed to service an average transit route in the Antelope Valley. The air conditioning system ran during most of the test except during the early morning hours when it was cold outside.

This is the second test for AVTA's electric bus. Its first unofficial test was July 29 when it traveled to Los Angeles to pick up the consul general of the Chinese Consulate who was scheduled to tour the BYD manufacturing facility in Lancaster. AVTA offered to pick up the Chinese delegation using its new BYD bus in order to test the zero emission vehicle's performance on the 14 freeway. After circulating downtown, the electric bus easily climbed the 14 Freeway grade which has an elevation change of nearly 4,000 feet. The 92-mile trip ended in Lancaster, CA with 64% of the bus' battery life still remaining.

"We are ecstatic to see our electric bus performing so well. Our 12-month demonstration project is now off the ground and we could not be more pleased at the early results," stated Executive Director Julie Austin. "We are also hopeful our plans to install wireless charging stations at AVTA's two main transfer centers will extend the battery life of our electric buses even more than BYD technology can guarantee."


AVTA provides local, commuter and dial-a-ride service to a population of more than 450,000 residents in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale as well as the unincorporated portions of northern Los Angeles County. Its total service area covers 1,200 square miles and it is bounded by the Kern County line to the north, the San Bernardino County line to the east, the Angeles National Forest to the south, and Interstate 5 to the West.

 

[djsjs]

why is this bus painted so ugly?

 

[cirr]

why is this bus painted so ugly?

The paint job melts into the landscape。

 

[Raphael]

I've visited Antelope Valley before. It's actually quite pretty in a desolate kind of way. The air is a lot better than LA's too.

 

[tonyget]

Electric bus manufacturers BYD and Proterra are making serious moves - Torque News

Electric bus manufacturers BYD and Proterra are making serious moves

Two of the biggest electric transit bus titans were in the news recently: BYD plans to build a manufacturing facility for its buses and batteries in Brazil, and Proterra has announced the first sale of its second-generation “infinite range” electric bus.
The electrification of public transit buses makes a lot of sense if executed well. China-based BYD (Build Your Dreams) and Greenville, SC-based Proterra are two companies that take very different approaches to electric buses, but both have plans for aggressive expansion in the near future.

While BYD opts for long-range buses with large iron-phosphate battery packs capable of traveling 155 miles on a charge, Proterra instead maximizes utility by minimizing charge times. Their “infinite range” electric bus is worthy of the nickname because its lithium-titanate battery pack can be recharged in as little as 5 minutes, enabling virtually seamless integration into urban routes for effectively unlimited operating range.

BYD to manufacture electric buses and battery packs in Brazil

The Chinese EV-maker released plans last week to build a manufacturing facility in Campinas, in the Sao Paolo region of Brazil, that will open in 2015 and be capable of producing 1,000 electric buses with battery packs in just its first year of operation. The company refers to this capacity as “the first stage of manufacturing expansion.”

The impressive production capacity will be the result of a $90 million investment and planned 32,000 square-meter and 20,000 square-meter facilities.

“BYD chose Campinas because of this city’s spirit of innovation and their goal of building a cleaner society, said BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu. “Along with the buses and batteries, our dream is to build solar panels and energy storage systems here to help the region achieve their zero emissions goals.”

Proterra announces first sale of second-generation electric bus

Proterra’s first product, the EcoRide BE-35 all-electric bus, was quite successful. It established the Proterra name and demonstrated the feasibility of the company’s proprietary automated fast-charge technology, which enables a bus with a relatively small battery pack to operate virtually non-stop.

To date, Proterra has delivered 44 all-electric buses to 9 different transit fleets across the United States. As it prepares to launch its new and improved model, Foothill Transit of West Covina, California has agreed to purchase the first two units of the second-generation transit bus.

This second-generation Proterra bus claims an outstanding efficiency of 20.8 MPGe (compared to a claimed 3.86 MPG for diesel buses), and is capable of traveling more than 26 miles per charge. It uses a 220-kW electric motor and a 2-speed transmission.

Which technology is superior?

Quite frankly, it doesn’t really matter in this particular debate. Each electric bus manufacturer will find customers who fit the proper profile for the capabilities of their product.

Aside from the initial investment, both varieties of electric bus are vastly superior to their diesel, hybrid, and CNG counterparts in every way. Proterra estimates its fleet operators will save $300,000 to $430,000 in operating costs over the life of each bus, so that takes some of the sting out of the high purchasing cost.

Though BYD buses and their 155-mile range will be quite capable of meeting the needs of most fleet operators, it is the strategy of Proterra and buses like Sweden’s Arctic Whisper that provides the most intriguing potential. The makers of the Arctic Whisper claim to be targeting 2-3 minutes of recharge time, and Proterra is no doubt aiming for similar rates.

This fast recharging is of particular interest to the wider EV industry; although it is presently well-suited only for large transit buses, the potential applications to light duty vehicles could change the game.

 

[TaiShang]

BYD named as Low Carbon Champion
By Abduel Elinaza

BYD, the world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries which is bringing a range of zero- and low-emission vehicles to Europe, has been named a UK Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) Low Carbon Champion.

At a gala dinner on Wednesday, BYD Europe was named the winner of the 'Low Carbon Heavy Duty Vehicle of the Year Award' by a judging panel comprised of 22 senior executives with a stake in low carbon road transport agenda.

They said that BYD's pure electric ebuses -- now in trial service in London and in major cities across Europe and the world - have demonstrated impressive carbon savings through innovative electric power train systems, providing a compelling business case with high market growth potential.

More than 25 entries were submitted for the awards, and BYD beat off competition from Iveco and Wrightbus in the Heavy Duty category.

The judges praised the BYD ebus in a press release, saying, "Backed by a wealth of international experience, BYD Europe's vehicles demonstrate a real business case for their adoption and market growth potential. The very high reliability of the new power train system has been demonstrated, providing a flexible approach to electric charging."

Isbrand Ho, Managing Director of BYD Europe, who accepted the award, said, "We are very honoured to receive this prestigious Award. We have invested heavily in demonstrating our technology to bus operators in more than 36 cities across Europe, and passengers in London today are travelling on our buses."

"We believe our reliable and proven technology has much to offer both environmentally and in dramatically reducing operating costs. We are delighted that our efforts have been recognised here."

The performance of the BYD ebus has been proven through extensive operational experience in China, where 780 ebuses have been in service in the southern city of Shenzhen since January 2011, covering a total of more than 33.7 million km of challenging passenger-carrying service, carrying up to 120 passengers during rush hour with full air-conditioning in use.

While the BYD ebus delivers zero emission public transport, it also offers bus operators tremendous operating cost savings. Each bus's energy consumption is around 130kWh/100km in urban conditions.

The ebus battery takes 4 to 5 hours to recharge from total depletion at a cost of only ￡19.44 for the buses in London (using off peak electricity – the buses are recharged at night). This represents a saving of up to 75% of fuel costs compared to a diesel bus.

 

[cirr]

BYD's green bus wins award

Updated: 2014-09-15 03:30

By ZHANG FAN in Sao Paulo(China Daily Latin America)

Tyler Li, general manager of BYD Brazil, receives the prize of Inovacidade at the Smart City Business Congress & Expo America in Sao Paulo on Sept 4. Provided to China Daily

Chinese automotive enterprises BYD Co Ltd was recently awarded the InovaCidade Award from Brazil's Smart City Business Institute for the company's electric transit buses. The award praises BYD achievements in technical innovation and for producing more environmentally-friendly products.

"It is very meaningful for BYD because it shows that Brazilian society values our technology. It is the first time for us to win the award in South America," said Tyler Li, general manager of BYD Brazil at the Smart City Business Congress & Expo America in Sao Paulo on Sept 4.

Li said Brazilians used to think of Chinese products as cheap and of poor quality, but winning this award shows that this impression is changing.

"We want to prove to Brazilian customers that our products have major technical advantages and electric buses will be a trend for the development of public transportation," he added.

Smart City Business Institute, covering South America, is an influential organization focused on innovation and urban development. Other international brands such as Dell and Microsoft also won the prize.

BYD's electric buses were also named as the Low Carbon Heavy Duty Vehicle of the Year in the UK. The judging panel said BYD's pure electric buses "have demonstrated impressive carbon savings through their electric power train systems."

BYD entered the Brazilian market last November and its electric transit buses have been tested in about 20 cities including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Currently there are two electric buses in trail service in Brasilia and Campinas.

The buses, according to the data from the company, can reduce operating costs by up to 81 percent compared with petrol-driven vehicles, which can greatly benefit bus operators and also enable more Brazilian cities to improve their public transportation systems.

"As the price of energy is more stable than the price of diesel, the electric bus has shown that it is possible to reduce pollution as well as operating costs of bus systems, which is consistent with the civic demand for improvements in public transportation without raising fares," said Adalberto Maluf , marketing director of BYD.

The Shenzhen-based company launched its first Brazilian factory this August in Campinas, an industrial city near Sao Paulo, to produce the world's only long-range electric transit bus.

The 30,000-square-meter factory will be BYD's production base in Latin America after it starts operations in 2015. The project will absorb $91 million in investment from BYD over the next three to five years.

BYD is currently the world's largest producer of rechargeable batteries with products in Europe and North and Central America.

Before exploring international markets, 780 of BYD's electric buses have been in service in Shenzhen since 2011.

Besides BYD, BMW, one of the world's largest automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing companies, also eyes Brazil as a potential market. BMW just released its first family model i3 in Brazil, available in eight cities including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.

 

[jkroo]

BYD's new energy vehicles rocks. My BYD QIN's everyday cost is around CNY0.095 per kilometers.

Go BYD to build your dream to be No.1 auto makers in China.

 

[sicsheep]

its funny a few month back, the largest solar array for US military was build at Fort Huachuca, AZ for US NETCOM and Army Intel, using mostly BYD solar panels purchased from BYD USA.

Largest solar array on U.S. military installation to be developed | Article | The United States Army

 

[jkroo]

BYD made solid progress in power batteries and charging equipment. As for vehicles, they need new automation product lines and more new designed models especially new energy car models. As a customer, I am worry about that car will have to be replaced in no more than 2 years for rapid progress of energy storage and charge if you want to try the new technology in the first time.
New energy cars market rocks this year.

 

[DragonEmpire]

BYD is the lowest emission car in the world. Let them eat our dust!

 

[skyknight]

I　will by one Qin!

 

[jkroo]

I　will by one Qin!

It will be good to you. I am almost the first batch customer, I can tell you after 9 months, they improved management system, charging system and interiors that means you have a better one than mine with less cost, less charging time and almost 3 years for free maintenance.
With the new energy vehicle policies, you have another 15k tax free and only need 146k to get one which means I consumed 20k more than you.


It's a totally high tech model with cloud services, remote control by keys and mobile phones, dual driving system with almost 300 hp output, all LCD control panels. Damn, no cars can compete with QIN with the same price tag.

 

[djsjs]

i want Tang, if not too expensive......

 

[jkroo]

Tang is about 180K.