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BYD e6 all-electric taxis, Premier sedan launch in Hong Kong

zach honig
Updated ·6 min read
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Anyone who's visited Hong Kong within the last few years has probably experienced the city's thick soupy smog. Sure, things aren't as bad as they are in Beijing, but pollution from the mainland often wraps the metropolis in a humid haze -- and we're not sure an all-electric taxi rollout is going to do anything to alleviate that. Just 45 of the BYD e6 cabs are now on the road, so the release is mainly symbolic -- only a few dozen lucky drivers will be cruising up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) of city streets between charge breaks at one of nine area stations. Private citizens, for their part, can take ownership of the e6 Premier sedan -- the civilian version just began shipping as well.

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Hong Kong's First Pure-Electric Taxis Begin Service, Revolutionizing Public Transport

BYD e6 Taxi fleet and e6 Premier sedan to launch officially in Hongkong

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, BYD announced the launch of Hong Kong's first all-electric taxi fleet, BYD e6 electric cross-over sedan at a launch ceremony held at the Hong Kong Science Park. BYD closely collaborated with Sime Darby Motors Group (Sime Darby), Hong Kong Taxi & Public Light Bus Association Limited, The Link Management Limited, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited and The Hong Kong Electric Company Limited to place into service the first batch of 45, BYD e6 Taxis. BYD also announced that the e6 "Taxi version" and e6 "Premier" sedan were now officially on sale in Hong Kong. Mr. John Tsang Chun-wah, the GBM, JP, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regional Government welcomed BYD to Hong Kong and reaffirmed his commitment to "promoting environmental sustainability by laying the foundation for Hong Kong to become a zero emissions city."

Mr. Wang Chuan-fu, Chairman and President of BYD Company Limited affirmed, "As a leading innovator in the green-energy market sector, BYD uses best-of-breed EV technologies for our e6 Taxis and e6 Premier sedans launching in Hong Kong. This not only asserts our green vision for promoting environmental sustainability for a better world, but is also a significant step for us in bringing green transport to benefit all people -- we greatly appreciate the presence of the Honorable Mr. Tsang at the ceremony today, as the support of the Government is of critical importance to the promotion and implementation of EVs in any country or region." "The support of the taxi industry is essential to the mass-adoption of EVs," remarked Mr. Wong Chung Keung, President and Chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi & Public Light Bus Association. "We fully support BYD and Sime Darby's introduction of pure electric taxis in Hong Kong. Our association will embrace this trial project with enthusiasm. We believe our upcoming co-operation with BYD for the promotion of electric taxis in Hong Kong will successfully upgrade the taxi industry and our efforts will not go in vain. We aim for a more pollution-free environment and our target is full replacement of our present vehicles with electric ones in the near future." Sime Darby offers Hong Kong drivers an eco-friendly transport supporting the development of a sustainable Hong Kong. Mr. Peter Goh, Managing Director of Sime Darby Motors Group said, "We are delighted to work with BYD in bringing the e6 Taxis and Premier sedans to Hong Kong, offering even more unique, eco-friendly driving and transport experiences. Today's launch is another testament to our commitment to providing top quality and high price-performance-ratio vehicles to our customers." The BYD e6 is a spacious, 5-passenger, crossover vehicle (EV) powered by the BYD Iron-Phosphate (or Fe) batteries -- it has a very long battery life with the highest safety level in the industry. It takes only two hours to fully charge the e6 using AC charging equipment developed by BYD. This pure EV can then travel for an unprecedented range up to 300 km, providing both the driver and passengers with an incomparable driving experience and zero emissions/ zero pollution.

The availability of charging facilities is also critical to EV customers -- in conjunction with the introduction of Hong Kong's first pure electric taxi fleet and the e6 Premier sedans, BYD is setting up 47 chargers in 9 charging locations near car parks throughout Hong Kong as the first phase of deployment. To address the anticipated growth of EV adoption, BYD plans to increase the number of charging facilities as adoption rolls out. These charging stations are now dispersed across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories and Lantau Island. The selection of these locations was optimized with the taxi-driver, shift-change locations, while taking into consideration the distance between each station and forming a reasonable coverage network for convenience. In addition, it is only anticipated that a one-hour recharge would only be needed per shift (during a rest or lunch break). Pure electric vehicles are becoming a major trend in the world, especially in densely populated cities like Hong Kong, where many vehicles are driven in a compact area day and night -- it is a pressing imperative that this public transportation becomes cleaner. The launch of the e6 Taxi and e6 Premier sedan underscores BYD's commitment to its "three green dreams" strategy in new energy, which is comprised of; solar energy generation made relevant by environmentally-friendly energy storage, and responsibly using this green energy in electric vehicles. The BYD e6 is a key piece in the BYD vision Zero-Emissions-Eco-System, with this zero emission transport Sime and BYD help bring Hong Kong and its eco-conscious public closer to their goal of sustainability. For more information, please visit www.byd.com, www.facebook.com/bydcompany or email pr@byd.com.

About BYD
BYD is ranked #1 at the top of Bloomberg's and Business Week's 2009 Tech 100 List is the leading manufacturer of advanced, environmentally-friendly battery technologies like the Iron Phosphate battery used in BYD electric vehicles and electric buses. BYD's solar panels and LED Lighting systems have CEC, TUV/CE and UL listings, and the company enjoys rapid growth in the consumer electronics space and electrified transportation sector, manufacturing under its BYD brand. BYD is the fastest-growing Chinese automotive and green energy technology enterprise. The company trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) under the ticker numbers HK.0285 – BYD Electronics and HK.1211 – BYD Company Ltd., as well as on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under the ticker number 002594 – BYD Company Ltd.

About Sime Darby
Sime Darby is a Malaysia-based diversified multinational involved in key growth sectors, namely, plantation, property, motors, industrial equipment, energy & utilities and healthcare. Founded in 1910, its business divisions seek to create positive benefits in the economy, environment and society where it has a presence. Sime Darby is committed to building a sustainable future for all its stakeholders. It is one of the largest companies on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalization of USD18.6 billion as at 30 June 2012.