(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Garbage may make you hold your nose, but that doesn’t mean the garbage truck has to.
BYD Company Ltd. and the Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group Ltd., are planning the world’s first pure electric sanitation truck lineup – a total of 26 different models – to serve the Beijing’s administration. The Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group is expected to replace 45% of its current diesel fleet for pure electric vehicles before the end of this year, and 100% of the fleet is to be switched to pure electric within 2017.
BYD’s pure electric sanitation truck lineup
With large-scale and comprehensive capabilities, the Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group is the most important sanitation company in Beijing. It is dedicated to providing a broad range of services comprising street sweeping, solid waste transportation and processing, water and air pollution management, consulting and design, vehicle manufacturing, investment and financing, and mining resources development.
The company covers the whole industry chain and is one of the most integrated companies in the environment sanitation industry in China.
The 26 models of pure electric trucks – with load capacities ranging from 1 to 32 tons – will be used as sweeping, garbage, and sprinkling trucks, carrying out multiple tasks including sweeping, collecting, compressing and transporting waste, as well as refrigerated transportation for hazardous waste. The truck lineup will cover all operational processes including collection, transportation and disposal. Amongst the trucks many advantages are low noise, zero emission, efficiency, long driving ranges, and life-time batteries.
Additionally to the BYD cutting-edge Iron-Phosphate Battery, the lineup is equipped with several other BYD core technologies. For example, the electric integrated axle assembly technology, which smartly combines the driving motor with the automatic gearbox and drive axle, largely improving transmission efficiency. At the same time, the integrated technology saves extra room for more batteries.
Another important technology is the use of the independent electric motor to control the fan, and water and fuel pumps. Additionally, an innovative design completely integrates the control systems for both the vehicle’s superstructure and chassis.
Another technology is the CAN (Controller Area Network) system, which further improves the vehicle’s reliability. The vehicle body is made of lightweight aluminum alloy which decreases the weight and extends both driving range and life span. The truck is equipped with cameras that grant a 360° view, so that the driver can monitor the whole operational process. The truck features GPS, which renders the vehicle traceable in case of emergency. Furthermore, with its Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) feature, the truck can be used as a charging unit to serve other trucks in need of charging. Moreover, the issue of “range anxiety” is tackled because the vehicles can be fully charged in 2 to 3 hours for a driving range up to 400 km or 8 hours’ heavy-duty operation.
Diesel powered trucks have emitted gargantuan amounts of hazardous waste gases in the past years. On February 24, 2016, the State Council demanded that larger fleets of electric sanitation and logistics trucks be adopted, but BYD and the Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group had already taken action – after setting up a joint venture dedicated to manufacturing pure electric sanitation trucks in August 2015.
Additionally to the unquestionable environmental benefits, the truck’s economic benefits are obvious as well: the operational cost of an 8-ton pure electric loading truck is almost half of that of its diesel counterpart.
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 is now worth roughly $1.77 billion.
For More on BYD, read the Special Report: BYD, Berkshire’s Tesla.
© 2016 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.