Skip to content

SciTech

World's Largest Fleet of Electric Taxis Celebrates One Year of Operation

by Julian Jackson 09 May 2011
World's Largest Fleet of Electric Taxis Celebrates One Year of Operation

China is making great strides to reduce its position as the world's number one greenhouse gas emitter. It has the largest fleet of electric taxis in the world, operating in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. Fifty of these five-seat taxis have been taking passengers since April 29th 2010 and have clocked up over 1,730,000 all-electric miles (or 2.77 million kilometres).

The e6 vehicles, manufactured by Shenzen-based auto-maker BYD, have a range of over 160 miles (250-300 Km) and a top speed of 88 mph (or 140km/h). It merely takes 20-30 minutes to recharge their batteries. ''This fleet of 50 e6 taxis has survived the very harsh operating conditions of hot Shenzhen summers and a very cold winter this year, and drivers and passengers alike have been extremely satisfied with their ride experience'', according to Stella Li, Senior, Vice President, BYD. 250 more eTaxi’s are being delivered to the International University in Shenzhen before August this year and officials believe that the per-car-fuel-savings is over $1167 per-taxi-per-month (£710, Euro 808).

BYD's all-electric taxis are expected to help Shenzhen avoid about 133 lbs (or 60.4Kg) of carbon-dioxide pollution per day per taxi. This is an equivalent of 2,425,060 lbs (or 1.1M kg) of carbon-dioxide pollution avoided by this fleet in this first year.

Some of BYD's e6 taxis in Shenzhen, China

BYD is confident that this year of fleet operation has shown that its advanced batteries, based on Iron-Phosphate technology and rapid charging capability, have been proven in the field. Other low emission vehicles from BYD include the F3DM petrol-electric hybrid car and all-electric drive eBUS-12.

etadshow234 -->

The F3DM is now being tested in the USA at the Housing Authority of Los Angeles (HACLA). Initial results show that it will achieve 88 mpg and that the per-car savings will be around 70%, as well as reducing carbon dioxide by up to 37 lbs (or 16.8 Kg) per day when driven in electric mode; obviously when mostly using the petrol engine for extended range the savings will be lower.

Electric eBus12 in operation in Shenzen, China

BYD also has high hopes for its eBUS-12 model of electric bus, which started operations in Shenzhen and Changsha, China, in January 2011. Cities like Beijing have announced favourable legislation for electric vehicles, such as no traffic restrictions and tax-free exemptions, which will make cost-conscious fleet users and consumers more likely to purchase these forms of transport. Although to be completely zero-emission in operation, e-vehicles have to be powered by non-fossil fuel sources of electricity, BYD is showing how reliable and adaptable e-vehicles can be in modern urban driving conditions, which is an important step forward for electric powered vehicle systems.

Photos: BYD

Link: www.byd.com.


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping