BOGOTA—December 11, 2012: BYD Ltd and Praco Didacol (BYD's Colombian distribution partner) will hold a Press Conference tomorrow, December 12th at 10:30AM at the Avenida el Dorado No 78-20 Bogota, Colombia, with BYD's Chairman Chuanfu Wang to announce that the first South American, all-electric taxi fleet will be launching next month. Not only will Colceincias -- Bogota's Technology, Science and Innovation Administration be getting several vehicles, but 46 BYD e6's will be placed into Taxi service as of Q1 2013 in the Colombian capital. Ms. Stella Li, BYD Senior Vice President, commented, "BYD is very impressed with the leadership in Colombia and their vision to be a part of the new clean technology era with electrified public transportation. We hope to triple our growth and presence in Colombia by next year."
“This project will permit us to analyze the behavior of the electric cars, with the purpose of reducing the dependence on fossil fuels.”
The District Government authorized this scalable all-electric Taxi pilot in an effort to improve the air quality in Colombia's dense cities. Forty-nine (49) BYD e6, 5-passenger, all-electric cross-over sedans received approval from the Colombia Ministry of Transportation to operate as taxis in the city of Bogota. These vehicles are not only the most spacious and comfortable Taxis in Colombia (13.6 cubic foot or 0.385 cubic meters for passenger and cargo space), but are extremely quiet on roads and completely non-polluting (no direct emissions). A measure was adopted by the Ministry of Environment in 2009 so that these types of vehicles could be imported with zero tax and electric cars in Bogota do not have license plate restrictions like other petroleum vehicles. "It is important that the capital city be the first to lead a project like this, because of its size and the demand. The idea is that this project can be replicated in other places in Colombia," assured Marcela Bonilla, Sectorial Director of Urban Affairs for the Ministry of the Environment. According to Susana Muhamad, District Secretary of Environment, "This project will permit us to analyze the behavior of the electric cars, with the purpose of reducing the dependence on fossil fuels."
BYD is one of the world's leaders in electric vehicle manufacturing -- BYD's fleet vehicles have accumulated over 50 million kilometers (or >30 M fleet miles) as of Dec 2012. BYD's market differentiator is the long-cycle-life and the environmentally-friendly Iron-Phosphate battery -- the key enabler for the BYD electric vehicle. BYD Auto's, distributed through Praco Didacol, are an excellent option for Colombian citizens because the quality and service are guaranteed by Praco Didacol, which has a strong local reputation for customer satisfaction in Colombia for over 95 years.
