Chinese electric bus maker BYD has expanded its North American operations with the opening of its first electric bus assembly plant in Canada, the second in North America.
The 45,000-square-foot facility in Newmarket is the first new electric bus plant to open in Ontario in a generation.
“We are dedicated to partnering with municipalities across Canada, and we are passionate about our mission to create a cleaner environment here in North America and across the globe,” said BYD President Stella Li.
While the Newmarket facility is BYD’s first Canadian assembly plant, the company is already active in the Canadian market with buses on order (or in operation) in Toronto, Victoria, Longeuil, St. Albert and Grand Prairie. The new plant will first focus on assemblying buses for the Toronto Transit Commission, the country’s largest transit operator. The agency will receive ten pure electric buses with an option for 30 more.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, each zero-emission electric bus like those manufactured by BYD, eliminates approximately 10 tons of nitrogen oxides, 350 pounds of diesel particulate matter, and approximately 1,690 tons of CO2 over the 12-year lifecycle of the vehicle.
“We’re proud to establish a home in Canada; it re-affirms our commitment as a company to be rooted in this country and in this province,” said Ted Dowling, Vice President, BYD Canada. “We look forward to creating new partnerships across the nation.”
“As traditional auto manufacturing is withdrawing from Canada, municipalities across the country are re-doubling their efforts to tackle climate change through zero-emissions transit,” Dowling said. “BYD is well-positioned to replicate in Canada the kind of rapid growth we’ve seen in places like Lancaster, California — a plant which started with about 100 workers in 2013, and now employs more than 750. Together with our partners in York Region and the town of Newmarket we’re going to put Canada on the map as a North American leader in Electric Bus assembly,” said Dowling.
The Official Sponsor of Mother Nature™, BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is the world’s leading electric vehicle company with proven innovative technology for cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, and rail systems – like SkyRail.
