Zhang Yang

    nicolezyyy@163.com

    SHENZHEN-BASED electric carmaker BYD announced Thursday that it has decided to invest €10 million (US$10.86 million) in an e-bus assembly factory in France, which will be its second e-bus factory in Europe and the fourth one overseas, according to the company’s press release.

    Occupying an area of nearly 80,000 square meters, the factory is based in a town near Beauvais in Hauts-de-France and is scheduled to come into operation in the first half of 2018. It will assemble up to 200 vehicles a year, including single-deck buses and coaches, in its first phase. Other vehicles may be added as BYD expands its product lines.

    In addition to bus assembly, BYD plans an after-sales center for maintenance and repair services and a logistics center for spare parts in the factory. In the longer term, a test center for batteries might be built as well. Around 100 jobs are expected to be created during the project’s initial phase.

    “We chose France because it has Europe’s largest bus market, and we selected Beauvais and the Hauts-de-France region because of its ideal location and the proactive approach of local and regional authorities,” said Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe.

    Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France region, said BYD’s decision to set up a plant in Hauts-de-France was great news for promoting employment — the region’s top priority.

    “A plant like this shows that we can attract major international corporations when we invest resources to do so. Last but not least, production of electric buses fits in perfectly with our Third Industrial Revolution strategy, which aims to make Hauts-de-France a leader in energy transition,” Bertrand said.

    BYD set up its first e-bus factory in Europe last year in Hungary and has two other e-bus assembly plants in the United States and Brazil.