MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay--(BUSINESS WIRE)--José Mujica, President of Uruguay, BYD, CTS and Buquebus officials signed a contract yesterday to begin bringing electric buses into Uruguay.
"I am very pleased that Uruguay will have this environmental-friendly bus and new technology. I am looking forward to seeing electric vehicle technology in this country as we are very devoted to the protection of the environment," said President Mujica.
Mr. Juan Carlos Lopez Mena, President of Buquebus, Uruguay’s largest tourism company, stated, "I am ready to invest heavily in a natural Uruguay – I will replace my whole tourism bus fleet with new energy buses." BYD Senior Business Director Stanley Lin Tang commented, “Uruguay is an important tourism market yet it imports all of its petroleum. Promoting electric vehicles not only contributes to environmental protection and economic recovery, but it also improves Uruguay's energy security." Dr. Sasson Attie, President of CTS Auto S.A. represented the third partner of the project.
The BYD GreenCity buses that CTS and Buquebus are purchasing are able to run 250 km (155 miles) on a single charge in urban conditions, with an energy consumption of less than 130 kWh per 100 km. The core technology of the BYD electric buses is BYD’s self-developed Iron-Phosphate battery technology boasting the highest safety, longest service life and most environmentally-friendly rechargeable chemistry. The BYD buses have been in service in four cities including Shenzhen, Changsha, Shaoguan and Xi’an accumulating over 5.6 million kilometers (or 3.4 M miles) by the end of April 2012. The first BYD electric buses will arrive in Uruguay before end of 2012 with targets to have over 500 buses running on roads by 2015.
About BYD
BYD is ranked #1 at the top of Bloomberg’s and Business Week'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 buses. 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 Buquebus
Buquebus is the largest tourism transportation company in Uruguay connecting more than 2 million passengers in Argentina and Uruguay a year by boat and by bus. Buquebus was created over 30 years ago by CEO, Mr. Juan Carlos Lopez Mena starting with a 40-year-old vessel and a market only one hundred thousand passengers. Buquebus is also the largest Tourist Agent in South America, selling over 300,000 hotel beds and 400,000 city tours per year.