BYD has recently delivered a pure electric bus to the city of Medellin, Colombia for a test program that would bring green technology into Medellin. After the successful conclusion of the tests, there was a celebration with the presence of the Mayor of Medellin Aníbal Gaviria Correa and Mayors of other neighboring municipalities, executive director of the Clear Air Organization Sergio Sanchez, president of Council of Medellin Fabio Riviera, Vice President of BYD America Fred Ni and other guests.
At the beginning of the test week, Fabio Riviera, President of Medellin Council, bus operator Mega Plus and the energy company EPM, joined the ride and were surprised by the BYD’s electric bus’s successful climbing of Medellin’s slopes. Citizens’ expectations were also exceeded when the bus overcame slopes with more than 17 degrees of inclination. Given the importance of academic input, BYD also invited several universities, professors, researchers and students to witness the tests.
At a Sector Conference, Adalberto Maluf, marketing director of BYD Brazil, introduced the company and different solutions available for the Colombian market. He also outlined the company’s technological breakthroughs that ensure both the quality and capability to fulfill every operational requirement to supply mass electrified transportation suited to the common rough topographies in Latin America. Hernán Darío Elejalde, director of the Medellin Metropolitan Area, expressed that "Thanks to this technology’s capacity to overcome the hurdles of topography, we hope this bus will usher in the era of electrified transportation in the region."
Due to the worldwide trend for cities to implement clean energy electrified transportation, with Bogota taking the first step in Colombia, by acquiring a fleet of 45 units of fully electric taxis – the largest in Latin America – Mayor Aníbal Gaviria Correa decided to follow suit, but he was concerned about the performance of electric vehicles in the topography of Medellin, whose routes are characterized by frequent and often exceedingly steep slopes. After the successful performance of the vehicles at the tests, Correa applauded not only their quality, but also BYD’s efforts to bring about the implementation of reliable clean energy electrified transportation to the city. The satisfaction with the test results intensified the Mayor’s interest in starting pilot projects with operators who are willing to test and acquire this technology. So far, BYD’s pure electric vehicles are in operation in over 110 cities in 35 countries worldwide.
