(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Turin will be the first city in Italy to deploy BYD Company’s pure electric buses.
The Chinese battery and vehicle-maker also recently announced its buses will be purchased by transit systems in Iran and Korea.
The city of Turin is purchasing 19 BYD ebuses delivering zero emission transport on city streets.
BYD won the country’s first big tender for 12 metre pure electric buses which was awarded on September 23, 216. The contract has a total value of over €10 million.
The tender is for long range, full size buses to operate on Piedmont Region’s urban transport networks.
BYD will supply a fleet of 12m ebuses together with the provision of full service support for 10 years. The buses use BYD’s Iron Phosphate (or “Fe”) Battery.
BYD ebuses will begin serving the major cities of Piedmont in summer 2017, and the ebuses will connect the city centers with suburban areas.
“Thanks to the vision of GTT to make Turin green this order ensures that Italy, together with the UK and France, is a top market for BYD in Europe”, said Isbrand Ho, Managing Director of BYD Europe. “We have consistently said that we would have ‘lift off’ in Europe when our order book exceeded 100 ebuses. These Italian orders bring the current total to over 100 units: we have truly arrived. What a way to end the year!”
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.