KEYPOINTS
- BYD delivered on March 28 five 12-metre eBuses to Coimbra Municipal Transport Service (SMTUC) in Portugal
- This repeat order follows SMTUC’s successful introduction of an initial eight 12-metre BYD eBuses in 2019
- The 12-metre BYD eBuses delivered feature the latest generation BYD Iron-Phosphate Battery technology for optimised battery life, safety and a longer driving range
BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of New Energy Vehicles (NEV) and power batteries, has made a second significant delivery of pure-electric buses to the Coimbra Municipal Urban Transport Service (SMTUC) in Portugal.
The 12-metre BYD eBuses delivered to SMTUC feature the latest generation BYD Iron-Phosphate Battery technology for optimised battery life, safety and a longer driving range. The buses offer a driving range of 300 km on a single charge for a seamless service that does not have to be interrupted for intermediate charging. Each bus has capacity for 80 passengers and is designed to meet the needs of people with reduced mobility — the company stated.
BYD has for several years been supporting SMTUC in implementing its environmental strategy, as it adopts zero-emission sustainable public transport solutions. SMTUC first added eight pure-electric BYD eBuses to its fleet in 2019. The BYD eBuses were commissioned for public bus services operating on a variety of urban routes in the Municipality of Coimbra in central Portugal. At the time, they were the very first full-sized electric buses to be introduced to the SMTUC fleet. The eight BYD eBuses have driven in excess of 700,000 km, saving over 760,000 kg CO2 emissions.
This initial delivery was also momentous for BYD as its eBuses made their operational debut in Portugal. The successful integration of these clean, non-polluting pure-electric buses to the Municipality of Coimbra, as well as positive feedback from passengers about the service, were influencing factors in SMTUC placing a second order and subsequently, taking its most recent delivery of five 12-metre BYD eBuses.
A further five 12-metre BYD eBuses were handed over to the Portuguese PTO, SMTUC, which was celebrated during a presentation to the public in Coimbra on 28th March 2022 in the presence of The Mayor of Coimbra, the Board of Directors of SMTUC, as well as Joaquin Bellido, eBus Director Iberia, BYD Europe.
BYD has delivered over 70,000 eBuses to customers worldwide, efficiently operating in both hot and cold climates. Over 2,500 BYD eBuses delivered or on order in Europe, in service in 100 European cities across 20 countries, including a growing number in the Iberian Perninusla. Collectively they have driven over 150 million kilometers, which represents a saving of 160,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Recently, the company announced that it is building its next-generation fleets on the NVIDIA’S DRIVE Hyperion architecture. This platform, based on DRIVE Orin, is now in production, and powering a wide ecosystem of 25 EV makers building software-defined vehicles on high-performance, energy-efficient AI compute. The open DRIVE Hyperion 8 platform allows these companies to individualize this programmable architecture to their needs, leveraging end-to-end solutions to accelerate autonomous driving development.