BYD Finally Exports Cars: 50 Taxis To London

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

BYD had made lots of announcements of exporting cars to the free world, but none of them have panned out so far. Remember BYD’s plans to take over America? Now finally we have what Reuters calls BYD’s “first overseas deal.” BYD will ship 50 e6 electric taxis to London in the second quarter of 2013.


BYD’s all-electric e6 did not quite take China by storm. The main customer is BYD’s home city of Shenzhen, where 300 e6 taxis silently prowl the streets since 2010 (see above for TTAC’s world-exclusive iPhone photography). BYD will add 500 more, Reuters says.

In London, the 50 e-taxis will join the fleet of London’s greentomatocars mini cab service that currently runs mostly Toyota Prii.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Forraymond Forraymond on Oct 24, 2012

    That looks much better than the Prius.

  • Herm Herm on Oct 24, 2012

    so how big is the battery?

  • -Cole- -Cole- on Oct 24, 2012

    greentomatocars? Oh, I see.

  • Freddie Freddie on Oct 24, 2012

    Somebody explain the practicalities of an electric taxi. Won't it have to spend several hours recharging for every hour on the road?

    • Herm Herm on Oct 28, 2012

      Heck no.. with the batteries they use they can do a full recharge in 30 minutes, probably good for a whole shift of driving.. taxis are usually driven by two people in two shifts of 8-10 hours each

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