BYD K9


The BYD K9 is a battery electric bus manufactured by the Chinese automaker BYD Auto, powered with its self-developed lithium iron phosphate battery, featuring the longest drive range of 250 km on one single charge under urban road conditions.
The first BYD battery electric bus was manufactured on September 30, 2010 in Changsha city of Hunan province. It followed models like F3DM, F6DM and e6. K9 has a 12-meter body length and 18-ton weight with one-step low-floor interior. It is reportedly priced at 2–3 million yuan. It has been running and/or tested in China, India, Japan, Hong Kong, U.S., Colombia, Chile, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Aruba and Singapore. More than 200 K9s in service in Shenzhen had accumulated over 9,216,000 km by the end of August, 2012.
In both 2011 and 2012, BYD obtained orders from amounting to 1200+ units. The company extended its production base in Tianjin, China at the end of July, 2012 and may plan to manufacture in Brazil and Windsor, Canada. BYD built and operates an electric bus factory in Lancaster, California, US. The new factory started production in October, 2013. In December 2014, another manufacturing plant began operation in Dalian, Liaoning, China.

Specifications

Official specifications

BYD's official specs publication on its electric bus includes:
Two or more versions of this bus have been exposed. The two-door version is in service in China's Shenzhen, Changsha, Xi'an and Shaoguan while the 3-door version operates in Shenzhen, Bogota etc. for test and demonstration purposes.

Battery and powertrain

K9 is powered by LiFePO4 batteries, which have been applied to BYD e6, BYD DESS and other energy storage products. BYD claims that the chemical materials contained in the battery can be recycled without any toxins. K9's power system uses an in-wheel motor drive and hub reductor. The maximum power output is 90 kW*2 and the max torque is 550Nm*2. Solar panels fixed on the vehicle were once reported to supplement the onboard batteries. They were included on demo units, but not on commercial units.

Safety

Safety features include unitary construction body, 4-wheel disc brakes, ABS+ASR, one-step easy-pass with special footplates for wheelchair access and non-step inside.

Body and interior design

The body comes silver, yellow or green. In the silver version the front windscreen occupies two-thirds of the front of the bus for maximum visibility. It includes adjustable leather seating for driver and red and black leather seats for passengers. The battery packs are laid in the vehicle rear on both sides inside the two cabins.

Costs

BYD calculates that a BYD ebus over 8 years saves about $190,000 in energy costs. In 2012, the price for a BYD ebus was 380,000 Euros, 100,000 more than a comparable diesel bus.

Policies

At a press conference in Beijing on November 4, 2012, BYD announced "Zero vehicle purchase price, Zero costs, Zero emissions", to promote the sale of its e6 and K9. The initiative is supported financially by China Development Bank from a fund totalling over 30 Billion RMB, and allows buyers to finance 100% of the purchase price with no down payment, paying a lease rate that effectively costs less than regular monthly operational expenses.
Under the scheme, available in China, public transport operators can choose the ownership model from three different options:
ModelFinancing bodyLease periodOwnership
Financial LeaseFinance CompanyA complete operational life cycle During the lease period, the financial organization owns the vehicle. The taxi company pays the lease in installments. After the lease period ends, the taxi company owns the vehicle.
Operational LeaseThird party vehicle lease companyA complete operating life cycle or a shorter period During the lease period and thereafter, the vehicle lease company owns the vehicle. The taxi company and the vehicle lease company sign an operational lease contract.
Buyer's CreditThe Taxi CompanyThe taxi company owns the vehicle. The taxi company pays monthly installments to the financial institution.

The company explained the concept of "Zero Costs" by comparing difference between the five-year cost of running a conventional taxi in Shenzhen, as against its all-electric taxicab. It came to the conclusion that "if the car runs for 5 years, and the total saving over 5 years is deducted from the higher cost of the vehicle and the interest on multiple payments, it can save 326,400 RMB. The company also claimed that if enough distance is covered, "the vehicle payment will be entirely offset". BYD also promoted the "Zero Emission" feature of its renewable-energy vehicles by stating that "an e6 electric taxi saves 14,120 litres of fuel per year, with 32 tonnes fewer CO2 emissions", and "169 million litres of fuel could be saved with CO2 emissions reduced by 38.62 million tonnes per year" if all Chinese taxis were to be replaced with its electric vehicles.

Global launch

Worldwide

In 2015, BYD sold about 6,000 of these buses worldwide. BYD became the world leader in the sale of electric vehicles in 2015.

Mainland China

.
. This bus is currently in a trial for six months.
BYD electric bus at Sarinah, Jakarta.
BYD electric bus has been tested in European countries including Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary Italy, Netherland, Portugal and Spain in cities such as Bremen and Bonn, Helsinki, Coimbra, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona and Warsaw.
In 2015, the Piedmont Region, issued the first Italian tender for full-size ebuses, won by BYD: in October 2017 the buses began operating, 20 buses were delivered to GTT for Turin city routes and 3 buses were delivered to SUN for Novara city routes.
In 2018, 4 K9s were delivered to Busitalia, a FS Group company, the Padua city bus operator.
35 BYD K9s are in service as airportbus between the terminal and B-gate's at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport since 2015. The busses are adapted for the airport use and charged via a solar powerstation at the airport.
Several other public transport authorities throughout the Netherlands have BYD K9s on order.