In a presentation at Germany’s IAA Transport this week, Chinese electric vehicle company BYD shared a wealth of commercial electric vehicle technologies that will be the first to hit the European market. The most intriguing of these was a new platform called eBus – featuring the company’s durable blade battery (currently used primarily in EV passenger cars) to power them.
Electrek notes that — as one of the leaders in the EV industry — BYD produced more than 320,000 pure electric vehicles in 2021 alone (second only to SAIC) and surpassed 641,000 in the first half of 2022.
Despite its substantial presence in dozens of markets, including China, BYD hasn’t stopped at further expanding its electric passenger vehicle footprint — announcing new markets such as Japan, Germany and Sweden.
In fact, BYD has been sticking to the U.S. commercial electric vehicle segment for years — supplying trucks to companies like Einride and electric buses to U.S. school districts, for example.
In addition to the electric cars themselves, BYD has developed various supporting technologies, especially batteries. The company claims that its blade battery packs are safer and more durable, and have even attracted the attention of Tesla (or will soon be used in the Model Y built at its Berlin plant in Germany).
BYD has already used the blade battery technology in various lines of electric passenger cars, including the Seal and Han, and after a presentation in Hanover, Germany, this week, the company is looking to its commercial electric vehicle lineup — including two new trucks and the all-electric eBus platform.
By using blade batteries, BYD claims to save more than 50 percent of space which can be used to boost battery capacity while reducing chassis weight — both of which help extend the EV’s range.
During the presentation, the company explained in detail the next generation of 12-meter electric buses. This new eBus platform is designed for the European market and the event was its first appearance.
The other two electric trucks are a 7.5-ton city delivery model called ETM6 and a 19-ton logistics/waste collection and transfer vehicle called ETH8.
Unfortunately, BYD has not yet shared the exact specifications and launch schedule of the new EU electric buses, and whether they have plans to be launched in other markets.
Finally, Javier Contijoch, Vice President of Sales for BYD Europe Commercial Vehicles (eBus), said: “We are pleased to introduce to our European customers the latest technological innovations from BYD, including electric trucks and electric buses”.
"The launch of the Blade Cell-based eBus platform is particularly exciting for us, as it represents a significant step forward in the electrification of the industry. We have built strong relationships with many of our strategic partners and look forward to establishing more collaborations to bring a more localized service experience, as well as a high level of technical support and business value to our European customers. Looking ahead, we can further assist our customers to achieve this goal and bring the smoothest fleet electrification experience to our European customers, supported by BYD's unique total solution for energy management and charging infrastructure."
