BYD loses bulk of 1.8b yuan electric bus order in China

[BEIJING] BYD Co said a Chinese bus operator canceled a major portion of a 1.8 billion yuan (S$363 million) order for electric buses after adjusting its traffic capacity.

Shenzhen Western Bus Co terminated an order for 2,228 electric buses, out of a total of 2,919 vehicles, after awarding the tender to a BYD unit, the automaker said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange late Monday.

BYD, which counts Berkshire Hathaway Inc as a shareholder, has been supplying electric commercial vehicles such as buses, forklifts and motorised road sweepers as competition intensifies in the passenger-vehicle market.

Founded by billionaire Wang Chuanfu, the company is seeking to build monorail systems to solve traffic congestion in the country's smaller cities.

The company's shares slid 1.1 per cent as of 9:36 am in Hong Kong trading, compared with the benchmark Hang Seng Index's 0.7 per cent gain.

BLOOMBERG