BYD Joins Global Push To Clean Air As Part Of Soot-Free Cities Initiative

BYD has officially joined a global push for “Soot-Free” urban bus fleets. Note of interest: As a leader in electric bus production, BYD has the potential to play a key role in cleaning up surface air by supplying buses that replace dirty diesel-fired transit buses around the world.

The Soot-Free cities initiative focuses on 20 megacities around the world in a concerted effort to eliminate sources of soot and clean up city air. For its part, BYD has committed to facilitate the purchase of its zero-emissions buses, starting in 2018. It will create a full product portfolio that is purpose-built for each city on its website and then report back on the number of each vehicle sold in each city.

As a company developing and selling electric buses, the program is a clear win, as it serves to highlight the numerous benefits of electric buses to city leaders and to city residents. In fact, it would be hard to imagine a program better suited to encourage the sale of electric buses. If successful, the program could serve as a global beacon for smaller cities around the world to highlight the benefits of clean air while mapping out a step by step map for other cities to follow.

Isbrand Ho, Managing Director of BYD Europe, came out in full support of the program:

“As the world’s largest electric bus manufacturer, we fully support the mission to bring cleaner ‘soot-free’ buses to megacities around the world. We go beyond ‘Soot-Free’ and hope even more urban centers will see the benefit of making the move to sustainable transportation solutions like our e-buses going forward.”

Stepping back to look at the program, it’s reach and global span is truly impressive, with participating cities including: Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Lagos, Lima, Manila, Mexico City, Nairobi, Santiago, Sao Paulo, and Sydney.

According to organizer C40 Cities, the vast majority of buses around the world are diesel-powered. Diesel has been the dominant technology for heavy vehicle applications, with more progressive areas transitioning to natural gas or hybrid electric buses in recent years. As the global availability of electric buses continues to increase, however, economics increasingly dictate a shift towards zero-emission electric buses and other vehicles in cities.

“I welcome the commitment of these bus manufacturers to make cleaner, safer engine technologies available to millions of citizens in the global south,” said C40 Executive Director, Mark Watts. “This is yet another example of cities and the private sector working together to tackle the most urgent challenges that we face.”

BYD was the leader in “new energy vehicle” sales in 2015 and 2016, with only a handful of other auto manufacturers in the running, like Nissan and Tesla. BYD currently has vehicles operating in more than 200 cities around the world in 50 countries and regions.

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