BYD opened a 45,000-square-foot electric bus assembly plant in Newmarket, Ontario, on June 25. The facility will first assemble buses for the Toronto Transit Commission, Canada’s largest transit operator. The agency has ordered 10 electric buses and has an option for 30 more.
BYD also has buses on order or in operation in Victoria, Longeuil, St. Albert and Grand Prairie, the company announced in a press release. Along with the 750 employees at its plant in Lancaster, California, BYD now employs nearly 1,000 people in North America.
“We’re proud to establish a home in Canada. It re-affirms our commitment as a company to be rooted in this country and in this province,” said Ted Dowling, vice president of BYD Canada. “Together with our partners in York Region and the town of Newmarket, we’re going to put Canada on the map as a North American leader in electric bus assembly. We look forward to creating new partnerships across the nation.”
