BYD signs 500-unit electric vehicle deal with city of Shenzhen

BYD Auto has inked an electric vehicle-related contract with the Chinese city of Shenzhen. Terms of the deal call for BYD to lease 200 eBUS-12 electric buses and 300 battery-powered e6 crossovers to the city of Shenzhen. The electrified vehicles will serves as people-haulers during Universiade 2011, an international multi-sport competitive event held in mid-August.

After the games come to an end, the electric vehicles will enter Shenzhen's public transportation system. This lease contract is reported to be one of the largest public-use electric vehicle deals ever signed by an automaker.

In a recent statement, BYD claimed that e6 and eBUS-12 testing has been "extremely successful for over a year." When fully charged, both the eBUS-12 and the e6 can supposedly go up to 300 kilometers (186.4 miles) under optimal conditions. BYD e6 taxis have been servicing Shenzhen, China for well over than a year. To date, the fleet of 50 electric taxis have accumulated more than three million kilometers (1.86 million miles).

[Source: Edmunds' Auto Observer]