BYD to establish electric bus factory in California

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai January 4) - BYD will officially announce the location of its new electric bus production site in the US state of California sometime this spring, Beijing News reported today. According to sources from the company, the manufacturer plans to produce 50 to 100 buses at the site in 2014. That figure looks set to increase to over 500 buses the following year.

Local recruitment drives for management and workers at the new factory have already begun. A lot of the site's equipment will come directly for China. The site will be BYD's next major step in the country following the establishment of the manufacturer's new US headquarters. At an event held in Los Angeles last October, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu announced his vision to see the manufacturer service the electric bus and electric taxi markets.

The American government has announced plans to see the number of electric vehicles on the nation's roads reach one million units by 2015. BYD hopes to take advantage of the new site's location in California, which is a center for forms of cleaner alternative energy in the US, to make inroads into the American EV market.

In addition to the factory, BYD also has plans to establish sales service centers and an automotive R&D center in the country.