With air pollution in China making headlines almost daily, BYD Co. Ltd., the Chinese battery and vehicle-maker that is 9% owned by Berkshire Hathaway, is providing 300 pure electric buses to the Chinese city of Shanwei, in Guangdong Province. The electric buses are the first of what could be thousands for the city in the next three years.
BYD will be gradually adding the buses to the city’s public transportation fleet as the city sets ambitious goals for electric bus transportation for the city’s 409,000 population.
According to BYD, the city is purchasing the BYD K7, an 8-meter, 23-seat pure electric bus running on BYD’s proprietary Iron-Phosphate batteries, which give it a driving range of up to 240km on a single charge.
The battery packs are placed on the roof and floor, making it quite spacious inside. It also features in-wheel motors, which saves a lot in terms of maintenance costs, as well as one-button-start system and continuously variable transmission. The company touts the model as ideal for urban transit or as an airport shuttle.
Not Hundreds of Buses, Thousands
The city of Shanwei plans to have 1,810 pure electric buses in service by the end of 2017. Additionally, 1,200 units of 6-to-8-meter new energy buses will be used as short-distance transit buses in urban areas and shuttle buses in suburban areas between 2017 and 2019.
By 2019, the city of Shanwei will have a total of 3,010 pure electric buses in operation. It is the first city in China to make large-scale use of the BYD K7.
Berkshire and BYD
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential and purchased 225 million shares, and today owns roughly 9.1% of the company.
At the time, Warren Buffett said: “”We are thrilled to be partners with BYD and the people of China. Mr. Wang Chuanfu has an extraordinary managerial record, and we welcome the opportunity to work with him.”
The move has certainly worked out well for Berkshire, as BYD’s electric buses have been hot sellers not only in China, but around the world.
In September 2015, BYD scored a massive order in the U. S. from the state of Washington. BYD won a contract from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for up to 800 pure electric buses.
BYD’s electric car business is booming as well, and it is now the number one seller of electric cars worldwide.
Berkshire’s stake in BYD is worth roughly $1.77 billion.
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.
The headlights flashing to pass you on the autobahn just might be coming from an EV built by BYD Company Ltd.
Chinese auto and battery-maker BYD Company Ltd has zoomed into the number one position as the world’s top selling EV manufacturer.
Nissan, Mitsubishi, Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW rounded out the top five, in that order.
BYD Co Ltd, which Berkshire Hathaway holds a minority stake in of nearly 10%, sold 6,099 pure electric cars in October 2015, which was almost double the 3,115 sold by second-place Nissan.
The Winner Month After Month
BYD’s first-place finish in October was the sixth consecutive month since May that it has led worldwide EV sales figures. The company has an eleven-percent market share of the total EV market.
BYD’s success is due to the popularity of its Qin sedan and Tang SUV. The company will introduce two new models, the SUVs Song and Yuan, in 2016.
BYD’s rise to the top is dramatic, as it was only ranked seventh in 2014, and it’s sure to continue to grow, as the company has yet to retail its EV cars in the United States.
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential and purchased 225 million shares, and today owns roughly 10% of the company.
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.
While everyone watches Tesla and Nissan to get the pulse of EV car sales, Chinese car-maker BYD is quietly topping their world-wide sales figures month after month.
BYD Co Ltd, which Berkshire Hathaway holds a minority stake in of nearly 10%, sold 5,307 pure electric cars in August 2015. The sales substantially topped both Tesla and Nissan, which had sales of 2,805 and 3,405 respectively.
The August win meant that the company beat Tesla’s and Nissan’s sales figures for the top EV manufacturer for the fourth month in a row.
For the year to date, BYD is in second place behind Nissan and ahead of Tesla.
Multiple Models
BYD’s Qin and Tang models make the company the only automaker to have two models in the top ten. The Qin ranks number one and the Tang is number eight, and BYD will be adding two SUV models, the Song and Yuan, to the product lineup as well.
BYD’s marketing strategy has seen it make inroads across the globe, and it currently has buses and taxis running in over 160 cities in 36 countries.
BYD, which is the world-leader in rechargeable batteries, has yet to enter the U.S. car market with either its all-electric or hybrid vehicles. In the U.S., the company has focused on the battery-powered zero emission bus market, winning contracts in San Diego and Long Beach, California, and in Colorado, Oregon and Washington. The company has built a factory to assemble the buses in Long Beach.
However, BYD is inching toward U.S. car sales. In the spring of 2015 it began a pilot program with Uber in Chicago that used BYDs E6 sedan. The car is a cross between a sedan and SUV, and currently gets roughly 186 miles (300 km) of driving range per charge. The 2016 E6 will reportedly get a range increase to 250 miles (400 km).
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.
BYD Co. Ltd., the Chinese battery and vehicle-maker that is 10% owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has signed a deal in Jordan to provide polycrystalline solar photovoltaic modules for the largest private photovoltaic project in the Middle-East country. The project will supply electricity to a number of luxury hotels.
Partnering with Phoenix Solar, BYD will build three power plants that will supply all the electricity needs of Arab International Hotels, plc (owner of Marriott Amman), Al Dawliyah Hotels & Malls, plc (owner of Sheraton Amman) and Business Tourism Company (owner of Marriott Dead Sea and Marriott Petra).
The goal of the solar project is to reduce to zero the carbon impact of power generation, eliminating 10.7 million kilograms of CO2 emissions per year that would ordinarily be produced through burning fossil fuels.
Phoenix Solar will handle the engineering, procurement and project management. The solar plants will be built in the Mwaqqar and Damikhi/Qatraneh areas, connecting to the electrical networks Jordan Electric Power Co, plc and Electric Distribution Company, plc.
“This project is a milestone in pursuing our ambitious environment targets of zero CO2 emissions,” said Bassam Maayeh, Managing Director of Arab International Hotels, and spokesman for the consortium of hotels involved.
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential and purchased 225 million shares, and today owns roughly 9.1% of the company.
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.
BYD Co. Ltd., the Chinese battery and vehicle-maker that is 10% owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has reached a deal to sell 10,000 vehicles to Sudan’s state-run company GIAD Motor Co Ltd.
The cars will include both hybrid and traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, and the deal represents the company’s first major order in Africa.
The vehicles’ power systems and key components will be built in China and the cars will be assembled in Sudan. BYD has assembly plants for gas-powered cars in Sudan and Egypt.
BYD’s Sudanese partner, Giad Motor Co. Ltd., is a subsidiary of Sudan’s Giad Group, the only corporation with a license to produce vehicles in the country, as well as its largest state-owned company.
BYD’s Sale on the Rise
Despite recent turmoil in the China’s stock markets, BYD has had a strong year for global sales.
BYD’s revenues are up 21% to 30.4 billion yuan ($4.75 billion) for the first six months of 2015. Gross profits were up 21.4% for the same period at 4.6 billion yuan with car sales up 14% to 210,000 units.
Berkshire and BYD
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential and purchased 225 million shares, and today owns roughly 9.1% of the company.
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.
In what it is touting as “America’s Largest Electric Bus Order,” BYD Co. Ltd., the Chinese battery and vehicle-maker that is 10% owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has scored a massive order from the state of Washington.
BYD has won a contract from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for up to 800 heavy duty buses from all different propulsion types that includes 12 different categories for all-electric buses.
The company won contracts in 10 of the 12 available vehicle categories of WSDOT’s RFP, and says it has the ability to deliver any of their buses within six months.
The contract includes buses from 30 – 60 feet in length for both highway and transit applications, as well as long-range and shorter range on-route charging configurations.
BYD is the only company world-wide that manufactures 7 different all-electric buses capable of long range as well as in-route charging configurations.
The company notes that its buses can drive for more than 155 miles even in heavy city traffic on a single charge, and BYD will also supply wireless on route charging as an option approved by WSDOT.
The buses use BYD’s Iron-Phosphate battery which has a 12-year-battery warranty, and use the company’s proprietary in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking system.
Single RFP Process Speeds Procurement
The single WSDOT RFP speeds procurement, and the buses will serve public transportation systems in the states of Washington and Oregon without their having to go through a separate RFP.
Any transit agency or public institution in the states of Washington and Oregon is now able to procure electric buses using the RFP.
“Our staff has spent the past few years researching every electric bus on the market,” said WSDOT’s David Chenaur, Capital Programs Manager, “and after rigorous evaluations of each manufacturer and their products we believe we have given our transit authorities the very best electric buses in each vehicle category to build their fleet with.”
BYD’s subsidiary BYD Motors will build the buses at its plant in Lancaster, California.
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential and purchased 225 million shares, and today owns roughly 9.1% of the company.
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.
There was a time when cities were very pleased with adding hybrid buses to reduce emissions from smoky diesel buses. These days, the mantra is zero-emissions, as cities work to meet tougher pollution and climate change goals. These goals benefit BYD Co. Ltd, the Chinese company that is a world-leader in rechargeable batteries, and maker of pure-electric and traditional fuel vehicles.
The company, which is partially-owned by Berkshire Hathaway, continues to make inroads in the U.S. market with its all-electric buses.
In Denver, Colorado, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) has approved the purchase of 36 of BYD’s 45-foot pure-electric buses for its 16th Street Mall shuttle, which is the RTD’s busiest bus route.
The buses replace a more than decade-old fleet of hybrid buses, which are aging out of service. The new buses will eliminate emissions on the heavily travelled route.
The RTS is spending $27.1 million to purchase the buses, which will have a 12-year lifespan.
BYD has been begun assembling its buses for the U.S. market in a plant it opened in Long Beach, California. The company is already making pure-electric buses for Long Beach’s transportation system.
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential and purchased 225 million shares, and today owns roughly 10% of the company.
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.
Berkshire Hathaway’s roughly 10% ownership in BYD Company Limited, the Chinese automobile and new energy company that is the largest supplier of rechargeable batteries in the world, makes the company especially worth watching for Berkshire shareholders.
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway placed a major bet on BYD’s potential when it purchased 225 million shares, and the company has not disappointed as it has aggressively moved into new markets.
A Willing Partner
While Tesla has mostly gone it alone, BYD not only manufactures its own line of cars and buses, but it is willing to form manufacturing partnerships that give it entry into new markets.
The key is BYD’s electric vehicle technology that makes it an excellent partner for other manufacturers looking to meet ambitious climate change and pollution goals.
On July 27, 2015, BYD announced a joint project worth $29.6 million deal with British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited to build 51 single-deck zero-emission buses for London. The buses will utilize BYD’s chassis and electric drivetrain with the bodies supplied by ADL. The partnership helps London move towards its goal of having all single-deck buses totally emission-free by 2020.
“This combination will deliver a unique vehicle which we believe will have a strong appeal in London and elsewhere in the UK,” said Isbrand Ho, the managing director of BYD Europe.
The buses will run on two routes served by London bus operator Go-Ahead London, and are scheduled to be in service by August 2016.
“Working together with our partners and friends at ADL we can provide a truly optimized blend of expertise. Our deep experience of not only battery technology but the critical battery management systems and driveline components necessary to deliver unequaled range and reliability are matched to ADL’s strong track record in building low weight, attractive and durable buses,” Ho said.
“We are delighted to have placed this order with BYD and have every confidence that along with ADL. They will deliver the world’s most advanced, zero-emission, pure electric bus fleet, and one that will match the rigorous demands of the London operating environment. This is a considerable step towards a cleaner, greener London bus fleet,” noted Richard Harrington, engineering director of Go-Ahead London.
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.
While Tesla has grabbed major headlines the past few years, China’s BYD Company Limited has grown from just 20 employees in 1995 to over 190,000 today, and in the process become the world’s largest rechargeable battery supplier.
The company has some 16,000 R&D engineers.
In 2015, BYD jumped to number one in worldwide EV sales thanks to the popularity of its Qin sedan and Tang SUV, beating Nissan, Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota.
The growth directly benefits Berkshire Hathaway. In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential and purchased 225 million shares for $230 million, and now owns roughly 9.1% of the company.
Today Berkshire’s stake in BYD is worth roughly $1.77 billion.
Like Tesla, BYD is both an automaker and a battery maker. The company purchased Xi’an Tsinchuan Auto Co., Ltd. in 2003 and has aggressively pursued both the auto and bus businesses.
Unlike Tesla, BYD manufactures both gasoline-powered and electric cars, including traditional fuel cars, dual mode electric cars, and electric-only cars and buses. BYD has jumped into the EV market with a broad range of vehicle types, including the bus, coach, taxi, private car, urban logistics truck, sanitation truck and construction truck (concrete mixer); and 4 specific off-road vehicles for use in the warehouse, airports, ports and mining.
Pure Electric Buses
It is in the bus market that BYD is making rapid progress. BYD’s zero-emission pure electric buses have already been deployed in Brazil, China, Columbia, England, India, Malaysia and Thailand.
Air pollution and carbon emissions are the key drivers of the move to pure electric buses. In China, diesel buses make up just 10% of the vehicles on the road but contribute over 30% of city air pollution and GHG emissions.
In January 2018, BYD reached a new milestone with the completion of its 50,000th battery-electric bus.
BYD’s C9, is a two-axle, 40′ coach with the seating capacity to carry 47 people at highway speeds for over 190 miles. The buses use an iron-phosphate battery that after 10,000 charge cycles will still retains 70% of its capacity.
Its largest bus, the K10A, is a 15-meter bus that seats 95 passengers, and is now in service in São Paulo, Brazil.
London saw its first pure electric zero emission double decker bus debut in October 2015, and a fleet of 51 single-deckers debuting in the fall of 2016.
As BYD looks to pure electric bus sales across Europe, it has announced a €20 million investment in a bus assembly plant in the northern Hungarian city of Komárom. The Hungarian plant will begin production in the first quarter of 2017, and will have its own R&D center and battery test facility.
In the U.S. market, BYD has primarily focused on bus sales,becoming the dominant player in the electric bus market. It built a massive 450,000 sq. ft. assembly plant in Lancaster, California.
BYD’s e-buses operate in transit agencies, universities and airports across North America, with more than 40 customers including LA Metro, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Stanford University, UCLA, UC San Francisco, UC Irvine, Anaheim Resort Transportation, Long Beach Transit, Denver Regional Transportation District, City of Albuquerque, SolTrans, SunLine Transit, Link Transit, COMO Connect, Antelope Valley Transit Authority, and many others.
In the spring of 2015, it also announced a pilot program with Uber in Chicago that uses BYDs E6 sedan. The car is a cross between a sedan and SUV, and currently gets roughly 186 miles (300 km) of driving range per charge. The 2016 E6 will reportedly get a range increase to 250 miles (400 km).
BYD’s biggest breakthrough in the U.S. market came in September 2015, when it won a contract with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for up to 800 heavy duty buses from all different propulsion types that includes 12 different categories for all-electric buses. The buses will serve public transportation systems in the states of Washington and Oregon.
The Explosive Growth of Pure Electric Vehicles in China
In China, it took ten years to go from zero electric vehicles to 1%, but it may take only another five years to reach 10%. In 2018, EVs rose to 3.3% market share.
And, even more amazing is that sales of new energy vehicles in China are projected to hit a whopping 30% by 2025.
BYD sold a total of 520,687 vehicles in 2018 in China alone, of which some 280,000 were pure electric cars.
Strength Around the Globe
While Tesla has struggled in China, laying off 30-percent of its workforce in March 2015, and has its goal of manufacturing in China still on the drawing board, BYD is already a major player. BYD not only has a factory in Shenzhen, but has captured half of the electric car market. Its home field advantage has it selling over 6,000 of its popular stylish QINs per month.
BYD is also having an easier time in emerging markets. It is opening a factory in Brazil by the end of 2015, and is using its strength in pure electric buses as its way to enter the market. What’s more, it beat all U.S. car manufacturers to the Cuba market. In July 2015, the company inked a deal with the Cuban government for the purchase of 719 vehicles to be the first fleet of tourist rental cars. The cars will be traditional fuel vehicles but will give BYD a major foothold in the country, and they are already planning to introduce electric vehicles, and move beyond tourist car rentals to government official vehicles and the nascent private car market.
In September 2015, BYD had its first substantial sale in Africa, signing a deal to sell 10,000 vehicles to Sudan’s state-run company GIAD Motor Co Ltd.
The 7+4 Strategy in Australia
BYD’s comprehensive “7+4” electrification strategy in the Australia region aims at electrification of all forms of ground transportation: urban bus, coach, taxi, passenger car, urban logistics trucks, construction trucks, and urban sanitation trucks (7), as well as vehicles for warehousing, mining, airports and ports (4).
In 2016, the BYD e6 taxi got the green light to access the Australian market becoming the first Chinese made electric vehicle to be certified by the Australian Design Rules (ADRs), the country’s stringent technical standards for emissions, vehicle safety and theft resistance.
The company was already in the Australian market with its pure electric buses in a shuttle service tested for Sidney Airport between December 2014 and May 2015, and it has also sold its pure electric forklifts in Sydney and Melbourne.
A Willing Partner
BYD’s technology makes it an excellent partner with other manufacturers, as cities around the world race to meet ambitious climate change and pollution goals.
In July 2015, BYD signed a deal worth $29.6 million deal with British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) to build 51 single-deck zero-emission buses for London. The buses utilize BYD’s chassis and electric drivetrain with the bodies supplied by ADL. The first 51 buses went into service in September 2016, following a three-year trial that proved the buses could consistently run a 16-hour shift without a recharge. The partnership helps London move towards its goal of having all single-deck buses totally emission-free by 2020.
“Our deep experience of not only battery technology but the critical battery management systems and driveline components necessary to deliver unequaled range and reliability are matched to ADL’s strong track record in building low weight, attractive and durable buses,” said Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe.
Innovative Mass Transit Solutions
While Elon Musk touts the future prospects of hyperloops in dealing with future transportation needs, Chinese competitor BYD Co. LTD. is looking towards an existing mass transit technology, the monorail, as part of its answer to urban congestion issues. In October 2016, the company debuted its “SkyRail” monorail system in Shenzhen, China.
With a capacity of between 10,000 to 30,000 passengers an hour (each way) and a high speed of up to 80km/h, SkyRail is part of BYD’s focus on the development of layered rail transport that meshes with metro and bus systems. BYD refers to “three-dimensional green traffic” as part of its green mobility platform.
Dramatic Cost Savings Compared to Subways
The electric monorail is a kind of traffic network which interconnects multiple transit backbones in the city at one sixth of the cost of a subway system.
According to BYD, the total market for monorails just in China is in the range of 3 trillion yuan ($450 billion).
BYD’s 4.4 kilometer monorail line at its Shenzhen Headquarters alleviates the traffic problems of 50,000 factory and management employees.
The first commercial sale of BYD’s SkyRail will be to S. Korea.
BYD’s B-Boxes and Vehicle Emergency Power Supply
Like Tesla, BYD has jumped into the home power storage business. The battery maker’s B-Boxes consist of fire-safe, long-cycle Iron-Phosphate rechargeable batteries that perform the same function as the Tesla PowerWall Battery. BYD’s B-Boxes are already on sale in many European countries including Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, as well as in Australia and Africa.
In a move that puts it ahead of Tesla, BYD’s Qin EV300 and e5 cars are equipped with BYD’s signature VtoL function, in which the vehicle serves as a massive mobile electricity supply to power appliances like cookers, refrigerators, power tools and many others, so that users can rely on the vehicle to plan outdoor activities that depend on electricity, or in case of emergencies like power cuts or blackouts.
Berkshire’s BYD Investment
Despite Berkshire Hathaway’s reputation for avoiding high-tech investments, its stake in BYD, like its more recent stake in eVolution Networks, shows Berkshire is not going to be left out of companies on the cutting edge of technology.
(This article contains updated information from when it was first published.)
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.