BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 9. Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park will commence production of buses with electric engines as part of its cooperation with the Chinese BYD Company, Trend reports via the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan.
According to the report, efforts are being made to investigate
the possibility of leveraging local resources to localize the
production of project spares.
Azerbaijan's sustainable development goals include a safer, more
ecologically friendly transportation infrastructure and lower
greenhouse gas emissions. To attain this goal, the Ministry of
Economy, Digital Development, and Transport are working together to
modernize the country's bus fleet. A collaboration with the Chinese
BYD Company is ongoing to offer locally made buses for Azerbaijan's
bus fleet. BYD was chosen from nine Chinese, Russian, and Hungarian
enterprises that presented ideas in this industry.
Azerbaijan Investment Company OJSC will join the electric bus production project as a shareholder. Electrify Azerbaijan LLC, a member of the SARDA Group, will be BYD's local partner in the project. BYD intends to invest an initial $34 million in manufacturing electric motor buses at the plant to be established in Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park. The company anticipates an annual production volume of 500 units, considering both domestic demand and export prospects. The project aims to generate 800 new job opportunities.
Starting in the third year of production, there are plans to localize the production of spare parts for electric motor buses manufactured by the company. By 2030, this localization is expected to reach 40 percent of the total bus cost. The exploration of local potential for this purpose has already begun. Bus production on a local scale is set to commence in 2025. Additionally, BYD's electric buses are scheduled to be introduced to Azerbaijan during the COP29 event in November 2024.
Future plans involve collaborating with BYD in various sectors, including the production of light-duty electric cargo vehicles, electric vehicles for public utilities, electric passenger cars, and battery assembly for energy storage. The company intends to make additional investments of approximately $60 million in these projects.
Established in 1995, BYD achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first company worldwide to reach record sales of 3 million vehicles in 2023. Renowned as one of the world's premier technology firms, BYD is at the forefront of innovation in automobile manufacturing, electronics, electric batteries, renewable energy, and railway transportation.
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