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BYD Delivers 100th Battery-Electric Truck in U.S.

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

BYD has delivered its 100th battery-electric truck in the United States.

World-wide, BYD has delivered more than 12,000 zero-emission electric trucks across all classes.

BYD’s 100th U.S. truck is a second generation BYD 8TT Class 8 Electric Semi that is part of a larger deployment for Anheuser-Busch’s Oakland, CA distribution operations.

“This is a great milestone for BYD, and it is just the beginning,” said Aaron Gillmore, BYD’s Vice President of Truck Business. “Our trucks are hard at work every day proving that electric is the new standard. 2020 will be a fantastic year for battery-electric trucks.”

The 100th truck will go to work delivering beverages for Anheuser-Busch around the San Francisco Bay area to retail accounts such as grocery and convenience stores on a daily basis. The trucks will charge at the Anheuser-Busch Oakland facility overnight. The project was grant funded by CARB.

Through its 2025 U.S. Sustainability Goals, Anheuser-Busch has committed to reducing carbon emissions by 25% across its entire value chain by 2025.The Oakland deployment builds on the brewer’s existing partnership with BYD including 21 additional BYD battery electric trucks at four of their distribution facilities across southern California: Sylmar, Riverside, Pomona, and Carson.

“We are proud to continue to build on our commitment to sustainable logistics through our partnership with BYD in California,” said Joaquin Schlottmann, Vice President of Tier 2 Logistics at Anheuser-Busch. “By integrating zero-emission vehicles into our distribution fleet, we are taking another step towards reaching our sustainability goals and helping ensure our beers are delivered in the most sustainable way possible.”

Anheuser-Busch put the BYD 8TT through extensive testing on range, acceleration, gradeability, charging speed, and more. The BYD 8TT exceeds the performance requirements of Anheuser-Busch and is receiving very positive feedback from drivers.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $230 million has grown in value almost ten-fold, and is now worth roughly $1.96 billion.

For More on BYD, read the Special Report: BYD, Berkshire’s Tesla.

© 2020 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.