The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has ordered 130 K7M electric buses from BYD, which calls the order the largest to date in the US.

The 30-foot K7M has 22 seats, a range of up to 150 miles, and a charging time of 2.5 to 3 hours. BYD offers a 12-year warranty on its batteries.

Los Angeles has launched its own Green New Deal, a set of sustainability goals that includes converting the entire LADOT fleet to zero-emission buses by 2030, and every city vehicle to zero-emission technology by 2050.

It is estimated that the 130 new e-buses will displace 98,700 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over their 12-year life, a reduction 81% compared to the agency’s CNG buses.

The new buses will be built at BYD’s Coach & Bus factory in Lancaster, California.

LADOT has been working with BYD since 2014 when it conducted a 90-day trial of a battery-electric bus. In 2017, the agency introduced the first of four K9S e-buses. BYD has now sold more than 460 electric buses to transit agencies and other customers in Southern California.

Source: BYD