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BYD produces 400th battery-electric bus at Calif. plant

The vehicle is a 60-foot articulated built for Los Angeles World Airports.

December 18, 2019
BYD produces 400th battery-electric bus at Calif. plant

BYD team members in front of the 400th bus built in Lancaster, Calif., which will be delivered to Los Angeles World Airports.

BYD

1 min to read


BYD team members in front of the 400th bus built in Lancaster, Calif., which will be delivered to Los Angeles World Airports. BYD

BYD produced its 400th bus at its Lancaster, Calif. manufacturing plant. The 400th bus is a 60-foot articulated K11Mmodel transit bus built for Los Angeles World Airports, which is part of a 20-bus order. The buses will be used to provide transportation for guests traveling between terminals and gates on the Los Angeles International Airport’s airfields.

In just six years, BYD has grown to become the largest battery-electric bus manufacturer in North America, with more than 750 employees. The company has expanded its Lancaster manufacturing plant, a former motorhome manufacturing facility, from 100,000 square feet to over a half-million square feet.

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From one bus model under production in 2014, BYD’s product line now includes transit bus models ranging from the 30-foot K7 to the 60-foot K11, and coach models ranging from 23-foot C6 to the double-deck, 45-foot C10MS. BYD

In all, BYD has invested more than $250 million in North America, and in 2018 alone, has spent $70 million on components and services from American vendors.

From one bus model under production in 2014, BYD’s product line now includes transit bus models ranging from the 30-foot K7 to the 60-foot K11, and coach models ranging from 23-foot C6 to the double-deck, 45-foot C10MS.

BYD now has more than 50 municipal, transit agency, university, airport, federal, and other commercial and private-sector bus customers, including the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Antelope Valley Transit Authority, Denver RTD, Kansas City International Airport, and Solano County Transit.

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