BYD Co. is in discussions with several countries about exporting its monorail system, as its billionaire founder Wang Chuanfu seeks a new avenue of growth amid rising competition to sell electric vehicles in the world’s biggest auto market.

    Wang, who started BYD as a manufacturer of handset batteries, took to the stage to promote the Shenzhen-based firm’s monorail system at an urban transportation conference in Mexico City on Thursday last week.

    Besides Mexico, countries like India, Brazil and Indonesia also share the similar conditions that make monorail an attractive option: big and densely populated cities that are struggling with traffic congestion, Wang said.

    “Monorail business can better tap into our edge on battery and engine-making capabilities as well as utilizing our global marketing strength,” Wang said. “We want to build another BYD by expanding the rail business.”

    Wang, 50, said in June that he was steering BYD into monorail, which he sees as the next major growth area for the company. Consisting of a single-track elevated railway that can be built on road dividers, monorail was a more affordable and feasible option for smaller cities than a subway system, he said.

    “Chinese cities certainly need better traffic solutions and monorails might be part of that,” said Jochen Siebert, managing director of JSC Automotive Consulting. “BYD won’t be the only player in that market.”

    The company’s foray into light transit is taking place as more competitors swarm into making electric vehicles after the government began encouraging businesses outside the traditional auto industry to try their hand at car making. Five companies have so far obtained permission to build electric vehicles under the new initiative.

    China is also working on rules to legalize makers of low-speed electric vehicles used mainly in the country’s rural areas, potentially introducing more competition by flooding the market with lower priced offerings.

    BYD’s auto sales rose 12 percent in the first 10 months to 386,149 units, slower than the 15 percent gain in industrywide deliveries. (SD-Agencies)