China Car Maker Goes Overseas; Sells Buses In The US

Apr 21, 2016 04:30 AM EDT | Tes Christiansen

The US market will be setting its sights on what could be the latest addition of new transportation services. And that would be a Chinese company's battery-operated bus.

At last year's Shenzhen auto show, Chinese automaker BYD Co. had tipped the scales on sales of electric cars sold by GM and Tesla, according to TownHall magazine. This time, the company is slowly entering the overseas market with its line of electric buses.

The Chinese company has decided to bank around costs and consumer sales' risk, prompting it to expand its business in the US by means of tapping environment-friendly transport companies with the rechargeable bus. Having opened its Los Angeles-based factory last 2013, BYD is expecting to release 300 of these buses this year alone.

Its first attempt to break into the American market was its introduction of plug-in EV taxis in cities like New York and Chicago. Michael Austin, vice president of BYD USA, said that although consumer sales are imminent, the company still needs to decide on a time frame. The next two years could lay witness to the development of the company's sales network. He further added that when that time comes, the company's recognition as a brand is cemented because people have already experienced riding their buses.

The Washington Post also reported on the Chinese company's rising success in the overseas auto market. The company's name, BYD, is short for "Build Your Dreams", and is slated to emerge as one of Chinese companies known to feed global demands of renewable energy subsidies and EVs.

Cosmin Laslau of Boston's Lux Research said that BYD could take up to 5 or more years to be in the same league as Tesla, Nissan, or GM. However, he says that it is completely doable, according to the publication.

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