“At that time, Brazil did not have the concept of electric buses. We took the lead in bringing electric buses to Brazil.” Talking about the process of opening up the Brazilian market, Li Tie, general manager of the Brazilian branch of BYD, a Chinese new energy vehicle company, proudly told Xinhua News Agency reporters.
In recent years, BYD's new energy product production line has steadily expanded in Brazil. In 2013, BYD opened its first office in Sao Paulo; in 2015, BYD’s electric bus and iron battery module assembly plant in Campinas, an industrial town in southeast Brazil, was completed; in 2017, BYD’s pure battery module assembly plant was also located in Campinas. The electric bus chassis plant and the solar panel plant were completed and put into production; in 2018, BYD's battery plant built in Manaus, the capital of the northern Amazon state, was put into operation.
According to reports, due to the different road conditions between Brazil and China, BYD’s initial production of electric buses is "unacceptable" in Brazil. To this end, BYD Brazil has improved more than a hundred technologies and established a local design, manufacturing, and testing process, and finally enabled the electric bus to meet the needs of the Brazilian market.
In order to expand the market, BYD brought electric buses to major Brazilian cities such as Recife, El Salvador, and Porto Alegre, and demonstrated BYD's mature technology to local bus operating companies.
The Brazilian government's emphasis on the sustainable development of transportation makes BYD full of confidence in the prospects of the Brazilian market. Li Tie said that BYD was the first company to promote and guide the development of electric buses and solar technology in Brazil. At present, related technologies have been supported and promoted by local governments and enterprises, and the local market has also been developed by leaps and bounds. In addition, BYD has also led the Brazilian auto industry to gradually develop hybrid and even pure electric technologies by providing batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage companies.
Marcelo von Schneider, an executive of BYD Brazil, said that BYD has successfully brought Chinese technology to the Brazilian market. He believes that the "knowledge and technology exchange" between Chinese and Brazilian engineers is the key to Brazil's learning and use of Chinese technology.
Von Schneider believes that Brazil is an important passenger car and bus market that can help lead the transformation of the industry. At the same time, Brazilian consumers are changing their minds and paying more attention to the development of the electric vehicle market. "We hope to change Brazil's travel concept and bring a modern, sustainable, and pollution-free travel mode."
Speaking of the future green development and cooperation between China and Brazil, Li Tie said: "Brazil is rich in resources and China has advanced technology. If Chinese technology can be combined with Brazil's resources and market, there will be very good development in the future."
(Source: Xinhua News Agency, original title: Newsletter: China's electric buses contribute to the sustainable development of Brazil's transportation)
