SHENZHEN: Transport operator SMRT
is poised to become the first company to use electric buses and
taxis in Singapore.
Chinese car giant BYD said SMRT has
ordered 10 of its e-Bus electric vehicles while the first
right-hand-drive units of its e6 battery-powered taxis will also be
bound for the Singapore firm.
Ms Nancy Mao, BYD's sales manager
(overseas group), said the buses cost about US$650,000 (S$804,000)
each - or about 70 per cent more than the average cost of a
single-deck diesel-powered bus.
The e6 is said to cost around
US$40,000 each, or 20 per cent more than the equivalent taxi
here.
Ms Mao was speaking to delegates
from the Land Transport Authority and Institution of Engineers
Singapore, who visited the Chinese manufacturer's plant in Shenzhen
earlier this week.
SMRT, which is majority-owned by
Temasek Holdings, said details of the BYD deal were still being
ironed out.
It said it has signed a memorandum
of understanding with the firm - one of the world's biggest
producers of electric and petrol-electric hybrids - to explore
possibilities of establishing a joint venture to 'develop,
distribute and sell electric vehicles' in Singapore.
SMRT's executive vice-president of
commercial business and roads Teo Chew Hoon said: 'Exploring the
use of electric vehicles in our fleet is one area which we are
actively looking into. At this point in time, we are in the early
stages of discussion with BYD.'
Despite the higher initial purchase
cost, electric buses and taxis are expected to offer operating
savings.
Each public diesel bus consumes
around $160 worth of fuel a day while electricity tariffs to charge
each e-Bus are expected to be around $80 - a 50 per cent saving.
Savings for taxis will be smaller, at between 20 and 30 per
cent.
BYD's Ms Mao said the company's
first right-hand-drive electric buses - China is left-hand drive -
will be rolled out from August.
The first deliveries of the
right-hand-drive e6 taxis will be made in June next
year.
Ms Teo of SMRT said the arrival of
vehicles will depend on when the charging infrastructure - which
Singapore has been planning for over a year - is ready.
BYD started in 1995 as a battery
maker with 20 employees, serving mainly mobile-phone
makers.
It now has 200,000 employees and is
ranked as one of the biggest manufacturers of electric and hybrid
vehicles, producing about half a million a year.
It will deliver 200 e-Buses to the
Shenzhen government next month and 600 by the end of the
year.
It aims to be the biggest automaker
in China by 2015 and the world's biggest by 2025.
American billionaire Warren Buffett
acquired a 10 per cent stake in the Hong Kong-listed company in
2009 at HK$8 per share. BYD shares closed at HK$24.55
yesterday.
http://cars.st701.com/resources/index.php?c=article&aid=11683&title=SMRT-to-buy-electric-buses,-cabs-from-BYD
