News

Build Your Dreams (BYD) has got a single largest order of 130 electric buses in the USA history from Los Angeles Department of Transportation. BYD revealed this at California Transit Association’s annual fall conference in Monterey. The company is going to build its K7M electric buses at BYD’s coach and bus factory in Lancaster, California.

Los Angeles Department of Transportation aims to get carbon neutral by adding all electric vehicles in its fleet. The all electric buses will help to reduce carbon footprint by 8,225 metric tons per year and 98,700 metric tons over the buses’ 12 years life which will decrease carbon emission by 81% in comparison to other diesel or CNG buses, said BYD.

A K7M bus uses Iron-Phosphate battery and gets a range of up to 150 miles on a single charge with the top speed of 56 mph. The bus is 30 feet long and gets up to 22 seats. K7M buses comes with regenerative braking system which charges the battery. The bus takes 3 hours to get a full charge. The batteries come with 12 years warranty.

This is not the first time LADOT is partnered with BYD. A 90-day trial was taken of a all-electric bus in the streets of Downtown Los Angeles in February, 2014. It was a collaboration between BYD and LADOT.

Tata Motors recently rolled out the first unit of the Altroz from its Pune plant in India. The car was earlier showcased at the Geneva Motor Show in March this year with a pre-production model and the company plans to launch the Altroz in January 2020.

Commenting on the roll-out, Mr. Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit (PVBU), Tata Motors said, “We are thrilled to roll-out yet another class defining product from the plant today. The ALTROZ is our first product that will be launched on the all-new ALFA platform and we believe that it will raise the bar for vehicles across the premium hatchback segment, come 2020. Since the unveiling of the concept in 2018, the anticipation for ALTROZ has always been high. We hope that customers will appreciate the new futuristic design with host of smart features, many of which are one segment above.”

The Altroz is the second car from the automaker which is based on the Impact 2.0 design, after the success of the Harrier, and is the first car based on the ALFA platform. This new architecture, as Tata puts it, will be much more driver oriented in performance, without any compromises on the safety. The Altroz gets sharp and edgy lines which make it look futuristic and comes with the latest BS6 norm compliant engine. Diamond-shaped Day-light opening (DLO) running across the window line gives the Altroz a sleek and elegant design, still enhancing a commanding presence on the roads. The interior is expected to follow the Harrier’s marks with automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, a big touch screen infotainment system and smart technology. The car comes loaded on space as well and claims to be one step above than its rivals.

Tata is confident that the Altroz will bring new definition to the premium hatchback segment in the Indian automotive markets and will redefine standards with its promising performance. It will compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Honda Jazz and the Hyundai i20.

New car sales declined by 2.5% in the first nine months of 2019 due to uncertainty over Brexit, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Although September saw a humble year-on-year growth following a decline in the same month in 2018, the year-to-date data was in the negative implying no growth. Diesel vehicles were substantially not sold resulting in a market share loss of 6.1% compared to last year, while petrol saw 4.5% rise in sales. There was also a decline in the number of business vehicles purchased in September 2019, as compared to September 2018, compensated by a slight rise in the number of fleet and commercial vehicles purchased. Private demand stood stable, with a modest increase of 0.1%. Considering that, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEV) saw meaningful increases in market share signifying consumers’ shift towards sustainability.

The figures are in contrast with other major EU markets which recorded double digits and lack political and economic uncertainty. SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said, “We need to restore stability to the market which means avoiding a ‘no deal’ Brexit and, moreover, agreeing a future relationship with the EU that avoids tariffs and barriers that could increase prices and reduce buyer choice.”

The automotive industry had already been anxious of a ‘no deal Brexit’ which would put hundreds if not thousands of jobs at risk and add billions to the cost of importing and exporting. Decline in sales would add to the devastating impact on the industry.

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