New large ebus order brings BYD over 100 sales in Scandinavia

Another major order for BYD in Sweden has been confirmed. The Swedish bus operator Nobina has placed orders for three types of BYD ebuses: 11 of the 12m ebuses, 10 of the 18m articulated ebuses and 5 of the 8.7m midi buses, which makes a total of 26 ebuses.

The buses will be servicing routes in Lidkoping (12m), Boras (18m articulated), and Ale (midi bus) in south-west Sweden. The routes are under the control of Västtrafik, the agency responsible for public transport services in the south-west Swedish county Västra Götaland.

BYD already has buses running in several cities in Sweden, including Eskilstuna and Ängelholm and recently also Norrtälje. Including these recent orders in Sweden, BYD has become the leader in electric buses in the Swedish market. With these new orders, BYD has received orders for more than 100 electric buses in 2018 in Scandinavia.

The 5 midi buses are the first electric midi bus order in Sweden and the whole of Scandinavia. BYD has previously confirmed midi bus orders for the Netherlands and Italy. Sweden is, after Norway, the second European country to have placed orders for the BYD articulated ebus. An earlier order for a total of 44 artics to Oslo was also placed by Nobina. In total BYD has sold more than 600 of its ebuses in Europe.

The new Nobina fleet is expected to be delivered in the summer of 2019.

Martin Atterhall, Fleet manager, Nobina Group said: “There is a rapid growth in the Nordic e-bus market. Where new technology and electric solutions are enablers for a more attractive and sustainable public transport – offering a cleaner, quieter and more comfortable traffic – we are determined to be in the forefront developing and introducing smart and sustainable e-bus solutions to the public transport authorities of the Nordics.

Isbrand Ho, Managing Director at BYD Europe, said: “Scandinavia has become the fastest growing market for BYD in Europe and is a remarkable success story particularly given both the tough climatic conditions and the strong competitors. With these new orders won for over 100 ebuses in 2018 so far, needless to say that we are delighted with our progress not only commercially but in support of improving air quality in the Nordics.”