(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Chinese battery and vehicle manufacturer BYD Co., Ltd. has secured Finland’s largest eBus order – 106 vehicles for Nobina, one of Scandinavia’s largest public transport operators.
Nobina will also be the first transit operator in the world to order BYD’s new 50-foot, three-axle low-floor eBus model. An impressive 42 of the new vehicles will go into service in the southwestern city of Turku in Summer 2021.
BYD’s new 50-foot eBus model offers 47+3 seating capacity. Of course, like all BYD heavy duty vehicles, BYD’s latest model features the safest batteries in use anywhere in the world.
A Profitable EV Company
BYD recently reported a net profit of 1.66 billion yuan (roughly 242 million U.S. dollars) for the first half of 2020. The net profit rose 14.29 percent over the same period in 2019.
Through June 30, BYD had revenue of 60.5 billion yuan, down 2.7 percent year on year, according to BYD’s financial report filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Despite the global pandemic, BYD projects 2.8 billion yuan to 3 billion yuan of net profit in the first three quarters of this year, which would be an increase of 77.86 percent to 90.56 percent from the same period of 2019.
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 sixteen-fold.
© 2020 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a 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.