BYD were chosen to fulfil the largest electric bus order in the UK by RATP Dev London.
The next time you go to London to visit the Queen (after the pandemic is over, of course), take note of some of the buses you come across – they could be from BYD.
The Chinese electric vehicle company has been selected to fulfil the UK’s largest order of electric buses in history. One of Transport for London’s bus operators, RATP Dev London, has ordered 195 single and double decker electric buses from BYD just this week.
The push for electrification of London’s public transport system was started in 2018. By 2037, the city aims for 100% of its public transport to produce no local emissions. Other European cities and countries are also making this transition towards electrified public transport.
BYD will be producing these busses with Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), who will build the bus bodies in the UK itself. As it stands, London already has about 400 of these electric buses from BYD and ADL running. Another 300 are on order, including this latest batch.
Here’s the press release with more.
PRESS RELEASE
BYD UK and Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) jointly confirmed today that their electric vehicle partnership, the UK’s leading electric bus producer, will deliver the UK’s largest ever electric bus order. The order has been placed by RATP Dev London, one of Transport for London (TfL)’s principal bus operators, for a total of 195 single and double deck vehicles.
With this order, RATP Dev London confirms its commitment to supporting TfL’s electrification plan for London’s bus network, a key objective of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy for 2018, under which all TfL buses will be zero emissions by 2037, with all of London’s transport becoming emissions free by 2037.
BYD is a global leader in batteries, energy management and electric mobility. ADL is a subsidiary of leading independent global bus manufacturer NFI Group Inc. (NFI).
The record order comes as the BYD ADL partnership continues to go from strength to strength, just five years after it was launched, thanks to its proven combination of BYD’s world-class battery electric driveline technology and ADL’s British-built bodies, which can be fully customised to reflect operating requirements. In London alone, over 400 BYD ADL electric buses have cumulatively covered over 20 million zero-emission miles, with close to another 300 vehicles on order including this latest intake for RATP Dev London. RATP Dev London will be the largest operator of electric buses in London by the beginning of 2022, with close to 25% of its London United and London Sovereign fleet fully electric.
Deliveries of RATP Dev London’s latest BYD ADL fleet will begin in the summer. 68 BYD ADL Enviro200EV single decks – including 21 compact 10.2-metre models – and 127 BYD ADL Enviro400EV double decks will be based at RATP Dev London’s Fulwell, Harrow and Shepherd’s Bush depots to serve routes in the west of the capital. The buses will join 36 existing BYD ADL single decks in service since 2018 and 29 BYD ADL double decks delivered last year. Feedback from RATP Dev London on these in-service vehicles has been very positive, with the double deck BYD ADL Enviro400EV in particular delivering exceptional reliability on 24-hour route operations.
