A fleet of 10 all electric buses manufactured by Chinese new energy technology company BYD started operating on the Japanese island of Okinawa, marking the beginning of the island’s electrified public transportation initiative.
10 BYD K9 electric buses now run a shuttle service to and from the Okinawa Naha Port. BYD is the only Chinese automaker to enter the Japanese market, and only with pure electric vehicles.
This is not the first time BYD has delivered its e-buses to Japan. In 2015, five BYD K9 buses started running in the city of Kyoto. This time, Japan placed the additional order to operate the K9 fleet in the historic city of Okinawa, which hosts millions of visitors each year.
A Japanese local government official spoke highly of BYD: “After the outstanding performance of the BYD K9 fleet operation in Kyoto, we were compelled to bring this model to Okinawa. This is the first time that a zero-emission, pure electric mode of public transportation is implemented in Okinawa, and I hope this will be a widespread model throughout Japan.”
At present, BYD’s electric vehicles have a footprint in more than 200 cities across 50 countries and regions.
