BYD-Daimler
First all-electric BYD E6 taxi fleet launched in London
Chinese car-maker BYD will launch London’s first ever all-electric taxi fleet on Tuesday (11 February 2014,) pulling ahead of global rivals such as Nissan in the race to roll out zero emission cabs by 2018.
Following similar BYD E6 taxi fleets in China, Hong Kong and South America, BYD’s move into London transport comes ahead of a 2018 deadline set by Mayor Boris Johnson for all of the city’s taxis to be zero-emission, which has sparked a battle between manufacturers to develop green vehicles. The Chinese manufacturer, 9.9 per cent owned by Mr Buffett, will initially launch a fleet of 20 electric cars operated by Thriev, a taxi company, less than two months after supplying the first-ever fully-electric buses to the capital. |
“Londoners are typically early adopters to new technology . . . and we are very happy to be first and beat the deadline by a few years. This is where the electric vehicle technology will shine,” Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe told the Financial Times.
Although the E6 cannot be registered as a ‘Black Cab’ because of the turning circle requirements, Thriev is aiming at the established 50,000-strong mini cab market, which relies heavily on diesel-powered MPVs. The BYD E6 is powered by a 40kWh battery and should offer a range of around 180 miles on a single charge, according to Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD’s export division. The E6 was launched as a taxi in Hong Kong last March and a fleet is already operating in Shenzhen, the Netherlands and Columbia. Source: Electric Vehicle News |
From China, the BYD e6.
The e6 is a long-range, pure-electric utility vehicle. It is a cross between a sedan and an SUV with superior interior space (over 88.3 cu-ft .) With over 800 operating as public eTaxis, the e6 fleets have an accumulated range of over 45 million miles as of May 1st, 2013.
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The nominal range of the BYD e6 on a single charge (in an eTaxi duty-cycle) is about 186 miles and it operates two shifts for nearly 24 hours with a mid-day supplemental charge.
The e6 is equipped with a 75kW motor and the BYD developed Fe battery, powering the e6 to a range of 186 miles on a single charge in urban conditions. |
This makes it one of the longest-range, pure EVs in the world. The projected top speed is 87mph. These characteristics make the e6 ideal for daily commutes, city driving and even long distance travel.
In addition, during braking, deceleration and downhill coasting, the vehicle's kinetic |
energy is converted into electrical energy and stored in battery packs through regenerative-braking functions, further improving energy utilization to increase the e6's range.
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