BYD is delivering a fleet of 16 pure electric 8.7-metre electric buses to public transport operator, Azienda Trasporti Di Messina (ATM), in the southern Italian city of Messina, Sicily.
The official whole fleet hand-over on Friday 31st May – at the famous Piazza del Duomo – was the culmination of a significant delivery programme for BYD as it supplies ATM with the second largest fleet of zero-emission electric midibuses in Italy; 28 BYD electric buses are already in operation in Turin. BYD has now secured over 50% of the total electric bus market in Italy.
This hand-over is the latest in a number of notable sales successes recently for BYD with major Local Authorities across Europe, including transport providers in Madrid, Valencia, Badajoz and Badalona in Spain, Coimbra in Portugal, and ongoing deliveries across Scandinavia. Messina too, marks an important geographical milestone for BYD in Europe, with BYD electric bus products now seen across the full length and breadth of the European continent.
ATM’s new BYD fleet signals the first full-size electric bus fleet for the island of Sicily. The Local Authority operator in Messina also boasts the highest percentage of electric buses (15% of total) within any public transport fleet throughout Italy. Significant too, is that the acquisition of the new 53-passenger capacity BYD electric bus fleet comes via state funding, directly through the municipality of Messina.
Receiving the new BYD fleet will be Mayor Cateno De Luca, Councilor for Mobility, alongside ATM representatives including President Giuseppe Campagna and Director Vincenzo Poidomani. The VIP group will also embark upon a brief tour of Messina on-board the city’sfirst BYD electric bus.
“The use of electric buses,” said Transport Councilor and Deputy Mayor, Salvatore Mondello, “reduces pollution and promotes sustainable mobility. We are proud that Messina becomes one of the leading cities from this point-of-view. We want to continue to focus on sustainable and technologically advanced transport.”
ATM’s President, Giuseppe Campagna, agrees, saying, “It was necessary to reach this ‘green’ turning point, that is enclosed in the general context in the evolution of mobility.”
Isbrand Ho, Managing Director at BYD Europe, added, “This is certainly an important day for BYD, not least the geographical significance of Messina and that BYD electric buses are now seen in service right across Europe – north, south, east and west.”
“We are seeing an increasing acceptance of pure electric mobility, not only from public transport companies but, perhaps more importantly, from the general public itself – it is the people that drive change,” he said. “I’m very pleased that BYD has both the products and the charging-infrastructure in place to meet customer demand and we will continue with our commitment to bring 100% emissions-free electric bus transport to European towns and cities.”
