BYD to Deliver 100 Electric Buses in Chile

BYD recently signed a contract to supply 100 K9FE electric buses to Santiago, Chile, and the delivery will be completed by end November as announced on July 3.

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The K9FE, with BYD’s latest battery technology, has a single-charge battery life that is supposed to last more than 250 kilometres. It is BYD’s exclusive product for the Chilean market and fully meets the technical requirements of the country’s local transportation.

“The introduction of BYD electric buses is an effective way to reduce urban emissions. They are the future of public transportation and will provide greater levels of comfort for the public with more efficient and environmentally friendly services,” said Ms. Gloria Hutt, Chile’s Minister of Transport.

The Santiago city bus operator, Metbus, will operate the fully electric buses in the Transantiago public transportation system on eight of the busiest routes in the fifth largest traffic-heavy city in Latin America.

“Contribution to environmental improvement and excellent economics were the two main reasons pitched to Santiago to gain their support and favor. Replace one traditionally fuelled bus with an electric bus, and you have the equal reduction of exhaust emissions from 33 diesel cars,” said Ms. Tamara Berrios, Business Director of BYD Chile.

BYD’s electric bus operating cost runs at only 70 Chilean pesos ($0.11) per kilometer, which is 70 percent lower than traditional diesel buses. Currently, more than 35,000 BYD pure electric buses are running on the streets of many cities around the world.

“We will be delivering high quality products and technical support as scheduled at the end of November, and together with our partners, create a comfortable riding experience for all,” said Ms. Berrios.

The buses are being supplied in collaboration with energy distributor ENEL and are due to begin arriving in late November. ENEL and BYD had already introduced two battery electric buses in Santiago back in November 2017.

Featured Image Source: BYD weibo.