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The Chinese BYD company, manufacturer of electric buses, is testing its 12 meters long electric bus with some transport companies in Mexico, soon to be followed by its 8 meters long model and by mid-2015 completing the range with its articulated unit, according to Frank Deutsch, general manager of BYD Mexico.
BYD models are pure electric buses which offer 250 kilometres of action radius with a single charge, guaranteeing that any of the existing routes iwill not require recharging stops until they arrive to their final destination.
Regarding the buses which are already in Mexico, or will come to the country for trial, they are destined to replace vehicles on existing routes, such as the trolleybuses in Mexico City, without making big infrastructure changes.
General Manager Deutsch agreed that the main challenge in the incorporation of these models is the investment, “as for the initial capital perhaps it requires 80% additional to the cost of a bus with diesel engine, but the analysis must evaluate the vehicle life.”
“One of the advantages of electric buses is the low maintenance, so if you consider that a unit has a lifespan of 12 years, the total investment is amortized over the first eight years and from the ninth the total income will be for the company or the carrier.”