Sydney Airport will expand its fleet of electric buses with Carbridge placing an order for 40 more BYD Toros.
The first of six buses was put into service in September and since then interest has been sparked in more units.
According to BYD’s Asia Pacific auto sales division general manager Liu Xueliang, the order is vindication for the Chinese brand.
“We are the first Chinese company to crack Australia’s electric bus market, having come a long way since the trial of our electric buses at the country’s busiest airport in Sydney in late 2014,” he said.
“This additional order from a large transport provider like Carbridge is testimony to our quality service and state of the art technology.”
The Toro, which Sydney Airport operates in under Electric Blu branding, has a range of 400km.
Meanwhile across the Tasman, NZ Bus will begin a trail of the BYD buses in Auckland and Wellington.
According to NZ Bus CEO Zane Fulljames, the electric bus has proven successful in other markets, but New Zealand presents topographical challenges.
The government bus operator is also in the process of retrofitting its fleet with electric powertrains.
“As a business we are committed to leading the industry towards an electric-powered bus fleet, as was reflected in our announcement last year to invest NZ$43m in Wrightspeed electric powertrain technology to be retrofitted to buses in our existing fleet,” Fulljames said.
“Trialling BYD eBus technology is about looking at options for the future in terms of our ongoing fleet replacement program,” he added.
