When you run a National Park in the Netherlands, green is going to be the top of your agenda when shopping for new buses for your fleet. BYD beat out international competition to become the sole supplier of electric buses to the Freisland Provincial Government who required new vehicles for their fleet.

BYD put forward a strong case for its buses with BYD coming out on top when pressed with potential commitments in meeting certain goals, the local government purchased six vehicles and also a 15 year maintenance contract. Friesland Provincial Executive Director Johannes Kramer stated, “Friesland province leads Europe in green transportation now. We  will soon have a  fully-electrified public transportation service with these  six BYD electric buses. This is good for Schiermonnikoog, good for tourism, and great for the environment!”

Yongping  Chen,  the  business  director  of  BYD  AUTO  added, “We are honored to win the first European electric  bus  tender  beating  all  other  bus  companies.  The  Friesland  Province  really  has  a  understanding  in preserving the environment and developing sustainable economy. We will work together with the Friesland government to make its public transport cleaner and quieter.”

The BYD electric buses are comparable to the buses now servicing Schiermonnikoog in terms of size – they are 12 meters long (40 feet). It is able to run 250 km (155 miles) on a single charge in urban conditions. The Fe battery (Iron Phosphate battery) equipped in the BYD electric bus boasts the highest safety, longest service life  and  most  environmentally-friendly  rechargeable  chemistry  and  contains  no  heavy  metals  or  toxic electrolytes. BYD electric buses are now in regular passenger service in several cities in China, Europe and North America, making it the largest electric bus manufacturer in the world. The accumulated mileage has reached over 7 million kilometers (or 4.35 million miles) achieved by the end of May 2012.