BYD to Open First Chinese Vehicle Plant in US

On April 17, Build Your Dreams (BYD), a Chinese car maker, announced it would open a bus manufacturing plant in Lancaster, CA, the first Chinese-owned vehicle plant to open in the United States.

Update 05/01/13:

Long Beach Transit, which serves parts of Los Angeles, has said it will buy 10 BYD electric buses for $12.1 million, and spend $2 million to design a charging facility for the vehicles, according to the Wall Street Journal. Since the new plant meets “Buy America” procurement guidelines about half of the total cost of the project will be funded through a federal grant, and the rest will be funded with state bonds.

The buses ordered by Long Beach Transit are expected to be built by sometime next year, according to the Associated Press. BYD says its buses can travel 155 miles between charges. BYD says it’s aiming to deliver between 200 and 300 electric buses to customers in the United States by the end of 2014.