BYD, the world’s leading eBus manufacturer, has today completed a delivery of ten eBuses to public transport operator, Tüke Busz Zrt, in the southern Hungarian city of Pécs – marking the start of the first ever electric bus operation in the city. The vehicles were manufactured at BYD’s state-of-the-art production facility in Komárom, also in Hungary.
The eBus fleet handover begins a longer-term commitment from Tüke Busz Zrt to convert its entire fleet to battery electric power. Despite the initial COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, BYD was still able to meet the planned delivery date for Tüke Busz Zrt. The delivery is also the latest in a number of recent fleet deliveries from BYD elsewhere in Europe as COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed and demand for public mobility increases.
With its capacity as a producer of face-masks and hygiene products, to help ease the shortage of PPE equipment and protect bus drivers, BYD is also making a contribution of 2000 face-masks to the Pécs local authority and a further 2000 to Tüke Busz Zrt.
The new BYD fleet was officially presented to Tüke Busz Zrt in the main city square in Pécs, with formalities overseen by key stakeholders including the Deputy Minister of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, Tamás Schanda; the Mayor of Pécs, Attila Péterffy; the former Mayor, Zsolt Páva; CEO of Tüke Busz Zrt, Gyula Gelencsér; and Laszlo Krenner, CEE Sales Representative at BYD.
Tüke Busz Zrt’s new electric bus fleet consists of BYD’s best-selling 12-metre low-floor model, and will replace the city’s ageing diesel-powered buses. The 12-metre model delivers a range of 300km on a single charge and, across the new BYD fleet, will cover 900,000km per year– 10% of the Tüke Busz Zrt’s annual distance. Charging infrastructure for the company’s new fleet has also been designed and installed by BYD.
With its manufacturing facilities in Hungary and also in France, BYD has established itself as Europe’s leading electric bus and coach brand, with over 1,300 pure-electric, 100% emissions-free vehicles either delivered or on order with Public Transport Operators throughout the continent.
Receiving the keys to the new BYD eBuses, the city’s Mayor, Attila Péterffy, said, “The 10 new electric buses are a big and serious step on the road to a truly green Pécs. The leadership of Pécs is committed to continuing on this path and to do everything possible here, locally, to protect the environment and the climate. We have found an excellent partner in BYD, and I sincerely hope that we will be able to work together many more times to further develop public transport in Pécs in a sustainable way.”
Chairman of the Board at Tüke Busz Zrt, Gyula Gelencsér, added that “Tüke Busz Zrt. is committed to innovation and towards environmentally conscious public transport solutions of the 21st century. We consider the appearance of electric buses in the city of Pécs and the joint cooperation with BYD as part of this approach. We hope that this purchase of electric buses will be one of the first steps of many environmentally conscious, modern vehicle procurements.”
Describing BYD’s latest delivery, Isbrand Ho, Managing Director at BYD Europe, said, “This is a landmark day for the future of public transport in Hungary. The citizens of Pécs will experience for the first time a new way to travel – one that is safe, quiet, comfortable and completely emissions-free. Electric mobility,” he said, “will also bring productivity benefits for Tüke Busz Zrt, as the company starts to convert its fleet in order to deliver a more sustainable, pure-electric transport solution.”
