BYD Zero-Emission Buses Used to Transport Athletes at 2015 World Games

LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- This week the largest Special Olympics ever was hosted in the City of Long Beach – thousands of athletes, coaches, dignitaries and families descended upon Los Angeles for what was a spectacular week of uplifting camaraderie, sportsmanship and competition. Handling the transportation and logistics of more than sixty-five hundred (6500) athletes required importing charter bus operators from across the nation as well as utilizing as many local resources as possible.  One significant local resource was California's Coach & Transit Bus manufacturer BYD Motors.  "World Games Host Town and the City of Long Beach is grateful for the buses and drivers that BYD provided to transport our athletes while touring Long Beach," stated Long Beach Community Foundation President & CEO, and 2015 Host Town Transportation Coordinator Marcelle Epley.  "BYD stepped up majorly as one of our key supporters and their tremendous efforts made our athletes feel welcomed. We depended on them, and they came through 100%."    

At the Opening Ceremonies on Saturday evening presided over by First Lady Michelle Obama and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, BYD Motors President and CEO Stella Li commented, "BYD could not be more proud to be a transportation provider for the 2015 World Games.  With athletes competing tomorrow we are happy to see our Zero-Emissions electric buses operating both here and now in service at LA Metro hopefully providing a cleaner environment for these magnificent athletes to compete in."  Both the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach have opted to purchase 100% battery-electric transit buses from BYD Motors in each of their latest procurements. "Los Angeles led the way years ago with the mass adoption of clean-air natural gas transit buses, and we are excited to again be the first large American city taking this final step to Zero-Emissions transportation by electrifying our fleet," said LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich at a press event in May.

BYD's Battery Electric bus employs many advanced technologies developed in-house by a staff of more than 15,000 R&D engineers including the advanced, BYD Iron-Phosphate battery which boasts the only 12-year-battery warranty in the industry.  Combined with BYD's proprietary in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking system, the BYD battery electric bus offers the lowest life cycle cost of ownership.  The BYD electric bus delivers a host of operational and environmental benefits for public transit riders, bus operators and residents of the community – it is very quiet and ensures a comfortable ride without vibrations, jerks or the noise associated with the conventional buses and combustion engines.  The bus can also drive for more than 155 miles even in heavy city traffic on a single charge.  As of April 1^st, 2015, BYD bus fleets have completed greater than 38 million miles "in revenue service" and have been evaluated by more than 110 cities in 36 countries around the world. To date, BYD has sold just over 5,000 electric buses globally, making it by far the most popular electric transit vehicle on the planet.

ABOUT BYD Motors Inc.:

BYD Motors Inc. is an American manufacturing company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of BYD Company Ltd, the largest domestic auto-manufacturer and electric-bus manufacturer in China.  BYD is a publicly traded company, with the Hong Kong listed stock 60% of which is owned by U.S. investors, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway as the largest single shareholder at 9.9%.   BYD Motors established its headquarters in downtown Los Angeles in October 2011 and has now hired over 130 Americans to support BYD Electric Bus and Energy Module factories in Lancaster, California. There are over 40 American research and development and sales support personnel at the Los Angeles headquarters.

Contacts in China: Sherry Li
[email protected] tel: +86-755-8988-8888-69666            

United States: Micheal Austin
[email protected] tel: 1(800) BYD-AUTO

Europe: Penny Peng
[email protected] tel: +31-102070888

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SOURCE BYD Motors Inc.