BYD – Tapping Into India's Huge EV Potential

When we talk about electric vehicles, BYD is probably one of the first names that pop up in our minds. The Chinese EV maker has held the title of the largest producer of ‘new energy vehicles’ – the way electric vehicles are referred to in China – for the last four years, with no signs of relinquishing the spot. The company has made strong in-roads into the Indian market with its electric buses and is laying a solid platform to spearhead the growth of e-mobility in the country. N. Balasubramanian spoke to Ketsu Zhang, Executive Director, BYD India, to find out how the company plans to script the country’s e-mobility future.

- N. Balasubramanian

BYD seems to be quietly establishing a strong presence in the Indian market. Could you give us a brief background about your entry into the Indian market for electric buses and how things have progressed?

Founded in 1995, BYD Company Ltd. (‘Build Your Dreams’) is a high-tech multinational company devoted to technological innovations for a better life. Within 20 years, BYD expanded from a 20 to 220,000-employee company, with over 30 industrial parks worldwide, measuring an area of over 18 million sq. metres. As of June 2019, BYD has submitted applications for over 26,000 patents and currently owns about 17,000 patents. BYD established in India in March 2007 in Chennai and set its first office in New Delhi. The Indian subsidiary has two factories, covering more than 140,000 sq. meters. Bearing the strategic layout of BYD Group in India and the whole of South Asia, BYD’s India branch has gradually developed into the group’s regional headquarters in South Asia, providing a strong guarantee for the realisation of the group’s localisation strategy in South Asia.

Which are the cities that are currently plying your buses?

As of today, thanks to the support of our local partners, BYD India has successfully piloted our all-electric buses in Bangalore, Rajkot, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Cochin, Chandigarh, Vijayawada, Manali, Mumbai, Surat, and other cities. As BYD India along with local partners continues to create values for India and to provide a needed and sustainable way of transportation for Indian people, we have full confidence that more and more Indian people will accept and embrace clean transportation. BYD’s electric coach products have recently started testing in India as well. As of now, the total range of all our buses running on the road in India is more than 6 million kilometres, with all the buses in good condition and performing well.