SHENZHEN, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BYD, the largest Chinese domestic auto brand and The Hertz Corporation, the world’s largest general use car rental brand, today announced a strategic partnership to promote new energy applications to propel the development of the EV markets in China. In addition, as part of the partnership, Hertz will rent BYD’s e6 electrical vehicle (EV) to Chinese consumers, municipalities and government agencies. Mark Frissora, Chairman and CEO of Hertz stated, “Hertz is once again first to market with innovation. We are the first global car rental company to offer EVs in China for businesses and consumers to rent. With our partnership with BYD, we can offer a complete solution including rental and sales – another first for our industry.” Chuanfu Wang Chairman and CEO of BYD stated, “Innovation is a consistent theme for Hertz and innovation is also the core of BYD's continuous fast growth -- pure EVs for car rental in China is an innovative step for new energy industry development. This joint innovation for our two large enterprises in the field of pure EVs will certainly bring ‘green’ transportation to the forefront for the world to admire.”
As part of this agreement, the BYD’s e6, a 5-seat, pure-electric vehicle with the driving range of more than 186 miles (240 km) will be introduced into the Hertz China’s rental fleet making BYD’s e6 the first pure EV for rent in China. The core technology of BYD’s e6 is BYD’s internally developed Iron-Phosphate or “FE” battery technology. The FE battery boasts the highest safety, longest service life and most environmentally-friendly rechargeable chemistry (containing no heavy metals or toxic/flammable electrolytes). The BYD e6 has been in use in Shenzhen taxi fleets for over a year now – the first fleet of 50 e6 taxis have now surpassed 2.5 million cumulative fleet miles (4 million km) without energy or range degradation and while being fast-charged daily the entire length of service. 300 more BYD e6s were added to these fleets in July for the 2011 Shenzhen Universiade and are performing flawlessly.
BYD’s e6 will serve in Hertz’s fleet for multiple groups of Hertz consumers including urban drivers, university students, travelers, and corporations, while bringing them a brand-new environmentally-friendly, EV driving experience. See more at www.facebook.com/bydcompany and www.byd.com
About BYD
BYD is ranked #1 at the top of Bloomberg’s and BusinessWeek's 2009 Tech 100 List (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100520006751/en/BYD-Tops-Bloomberg-Businessweek%E2%80%99s-12th-Annual-Tech) and is the leading manufacturer of advanced, environmentally-friendly battery technologies like the BYD’s Iron Phosphate battery used in BYD electric vehicles and electric busses. BYD’s solar panels and LED Lighting systems have CEC, TUV/CE and UL listings, and the company enjoys rapid growth in consumer electronics space and electrified transportation sector manufacturing under its BYD brand. BYD is the fastest-growing Chinese automotive and green energy technology enterprise. The Company trades on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKE) under the ticker numbers (HK.0285 – BYD Electronics) and (HK.1211 – BYD Company Ltd.), as well as on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under the ticker number (002594 - BYD Company Ltd.). For more information, visit www.byd.com, www.facebook.com/bydcompany or email pr@byd.com.
About Hertz
Hertz is the largest worldwide airport general use car rental brand operating from more than 8,500 locations in 146 countries worldwide. Hertz is the number one airport car rental brand in the U.S. and at 83 major airports in Europe, operating both corporate and licensee locations in cities and airports in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The Company also has licensee locations in cities and airports in Africa and the Middle East. Product and services such as Hertz #1 Club Gold(R), NeverLost(R) in-car GPS system, SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio, and unique cars and SUVs offered through the Company's Prestige, Adrenaline and Green Traveler Collections, set Hertz apart from the competition. The Company also operates the Advantage car rental brand at 26 airports in the U.S. And, Hertz operates one of the world's largest equipment rental businesses, Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation, offering a diverse line of equipment for rent, including tools and supplies, and new and used equipment for sale, from approximately 325 branches in the United States, Canada, China, France, Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia. For more information, please email privera@hertz.com.
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