New South Wales government to add 35 electric buses to its North Shore fleet

A BYD-Gemilang-Nexport electric bus, currently servicing the Inner West of Sydney.

The New South Wales Government has appointed Busways North West as the operator of bus services in Sydney’s North West and select areas of the Lower North Shore, and the company has committed to introducing 35 electric buses to replace diesel buses that have reached the end of their life.

“Busways is an Australian-owned family company which currently runs bus routes, with integrated On Demand services, in Sydney’s West and the Hills District, and will now operate in the North West and Lower North Shore,” Mr Constance said. 

“Busways will introduce 35 electric buses to replace diesel buses that need to be retired, meaning cleaner, quieter and smoother rides for customers. Charging infrastructure will be installed at the Willoughby depot to support the new fleet.” 

Nexport is likely a contender to receive the purchase order. As a growing Australian business, with the company recently announcing a $110 million funding injection from Hong Kong-based financier Tor Investment Management, Nexport plans to partner with Australian technology giant Tritium —which is soon set to list on the NASDAQ exchange— to build EVs in Brisbane and the Australian Capital Territory. Nexport is already building buses using BYD drivetrains and Gemlang/Volgren bodies in New South Wales and Victoria.

We’ve reached out to Transport for New South Wales to get more information on the buses.

A concept of BYD-Nexport’s next electric bus. Image: Nexport

Australia's Nexport enters deal with Splend to supply 3000 BYD electric vehicles from 2022 [updated]

The BYD Han will form part of Nexport’s Australian line-up in 2022. Images: BYD

[updated] Speaking with Luke Todd, CEO of Nexport and TrueGreen this afternoon, he confirmed to EV Brief that of the 3,000 BYD units in the MOU, 2,000 would be making their way to Australia. This is a significant figure, given around 5,000 battery electric vehicles were sold in Australia in 2020. He also confirmed on-demand drivers would be trained and educated in the BYD model range to provide demonstration drives to potential customers.

We're hoping to speak with Todd this week on the podcast, covering all things BYD.

Following the signing of a historic distribution agreement to allow Nexport to sell right-hand-drive BYD vehicles globally, Nexport has announced its own historic deal — a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Splend — to purchase 3,000 BYD electric vehicles.

We hadn’t heard of Splend until this media release hit our inbox, but the Australian and United Kingdom-based company provides flexible vehicle subscription and ownership plans specifically for rideshare and delivery drivers on platforms such as Uber, DiDi and AmazonFlex. Splend provides rental or rent-to-own plans for drivers, inclusive of servicing and maintenence, roadside assistance and driver training.

The MOU between Nexport and Splend will see the 3,000 BYD vehicles delivered across the UK and Australia from early 2022; in addition, it also includes a deal that will see Splend provide demonstrator vehicles for new BYD buyers, as part of Nexports direct to consumer sales model through EV Direct.

As commuters are slow to return to public transport in COVID-19 affected areas, demand for rideshare services across the globe is increasing, and the electrification of these trips is key to reducing emissions in our cities. reducing costs and improving profits and reliability for drivers.

Splend is already advertising that they will be offering electric vehicle options soon for drivers, and Uber will be reducing their commission by 50% for every EV ride until 30 June 2022.

At the time of publishing, we don’t have a figure on the proportion of units allocated to Australia and the UK, but will update this article with a comment from Nexport when we can.

Source: Nexport

BYD partners with Nexport to sell electric vehicles in Australia from 2022

BYD signs deal to retail electric cars in Australia from 2022

BYD Co Limited (Build Your Dreams) has signed an historic deal with Nexport this week, allowing the Australian company to retail a number of BYD electric passenger vehicles locally from 2022.

This is the first foreign distribution agreement signed by BYD, and will see the launch of a range of the company's electric vehicles to buyers down under next year.

A left hand drive BYD Han in Australia for testing purposes. Image: BYD Australia

“Australian consumers will soon be able to access affordable, best of class electric vehicles in both the passenger and commercial space” according to Luke Todd, Managing Director of Nexport. “Thel right hand markets have been undersupplied in the Electric vehicle space and this agreement ensures certainty of local supply in these best of class EV vehicles”, Todd continued.

The BYD Tang is an all electric luxury SUV. Image: BYD

Nexport plans to retail BYD electric vehicles through a new online site EV Direct, which is expected to launch customer pre-orders from July 2021. The direct sales model should help to bring the price of EVs down, by avoiding dealership, franchise and transportation overheads, and BYD claims that price parity will be achieved with equivalent internal combustion engined vehicles.

The BYD Han. Image: BYD

It's expected BYD's Tesla-rivalling Han sedan will make it here, as well as the plug-in hybrid crossover Song and Tang SUV.

We are very excited about the prospect of more electric options for consumers in Australia. Any brand snobs should be on notice: a reality check is coming. BYD is the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in China, and before expanding into the automotive sector, the company was the leader in global mobile phone battery manufacturing. There's no doubt that they can make an impact on the Australian automotive market with the right mix of value, luxury and performance.

The BYD Han promises a level of luxury, tech and refinement on par with the best in the business.