China’s BYD wins second electric bus order in tough to crack Africa market
The Shenzhen-based company, which sold 14,000 electric buses globally last year, wants to build on its leadership position in other parts of the continent
BYD, the Chinese battery and electric vehicle maker in which American tycoon Warren Buffett is a substantial investor, has won its second electric bus order in Africa, a challenging market to crack because of affordability issues.
Although the growth potential is huge, a lack of direct state subsidies for buying electric vehicles is a major stumbling block Chinese makers including BYD face, according to a senior manager responsible for emerging markets at the Shenzhen-based firm.
“The region’s understanding of electric vehicles is limited, so we have to spend a lot of effort and time to promote them,” Huang Zhixue, general manager of the firm’s Middle East and Africa auto sales division, told the South China Morning Post in an interview.
BYD on Wednesday signed a contract to supply 15 of its K9 model electric buses to Alexandria Passenger Transportation Authority in Egypt after some “intense” bidding in a tender process. Each can carry around 90 passengers.
Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt with a population of nearly 5 million.
Huang declined to divulge the value of the contract citing commercial confidentiality.