(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
China’s BYD recently delivered 101 of its e6 electric taxis to Bangkok, Thailand.
The e6 is powered by BYD’s proprietary lithium iron phosphate battery which is renowned for being safe, stable, and fast charging. With just two hours of charging time, BYD cars are able to travel up to 400 kilometers.
The BYD order is one of the city’s largest electric taxi fleet orders, and the company aims to introduce 1,000 pure electric taxis in Thailand by 2019.
The new e6 fleet will be utilized as VIP taxis and as part of a car sharing service.
The official selection of BYD as the provider of the country’s first fleet of pure electric taxis is in line with the country’s ambitions of having 1.2 million green energy vehicles ply its streets.
Taxis and buses are a major source of Thailand’s air pollution. With over 100,000 taxis and around 43,000 buses traversing hundreds of kilometers daily between Bangkok and its surroundings, the area suffers from a high level of vehicle exhaust emissions.
“Electric vehicles are being adopted around the world because they are cleaner and less noisy compared to combustion engine vehicles,” said Sanit Promwong, the Director of the Land Transport Department of Thailand. “We ultimately want our people to have a better living environment.”
Thailand has introduced policies ranging from tariff to corporate income tax cuts to boost the production and use of electric cars in the country.
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.
© 2018 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.