BYD eBuses fleet to the city of Messina in southern Italy

BYD eBus Messina

Chinese company BYD delivered a fleet of 16 pure electric 8.7-metre eBuses to Azienda Trasporti Di Messina (ATM), in the southern Italian city of Messina, Sicily.

The official whole fleet hand-over on Friday 31st May – at the famous Piazza del Duomo – has been the culmination of a significant delivery programme for BYD as it supplies ATM with the second largest fleet of zero-emission electric midibuses in Italy; 28 BYD eBuses are already in operation in Turin. BYD has now secured over 50% of the total eBus market in Italy.

BYD eBus Messina
From the left to right: ATM’s President, Mr. Giuseppe Campagna; BYD Europe Sales Manager, Mr. Patrick Zhou; and AMT’s Director Ad Iterim, Mr. Natale Trischitta.

ATM’s new BYD fleet signals the first full-size eBus fleet for the island of Sicily. The Local Authority operator in Messina also boasts the highest percentage of electric buses (15% of total) within any public transport fleet throughout Italy. Significant too, is that the acquisition of the new 53-passenger capacity BYD eBus fleet comes via state funding, directly through the municipality of Messina. 

To receive the new BYD fleet has been Mayor Cateno De Luca, Councilor for Mobility, alongside ATM representatives including President Giuseppe Campagna and Director Vincenzo Poidomani. The VIP group also embarked upon a brief tour of Messina on-board the city’s first BYD eBus.

The use of electric buses – said Transport Councilor and Deputy Mayor, Salvatore Mondello, reduces pollution and promotes sustainable mobility. We are proud that Messina becomes one of the leading cities from this point-of-view. We want to continue to focus on sustainable and technologically advanced transport.

BYD eBus Messina
The BYD 8.7m eBuses in Messina

ATM’s President, Giuseppe Campagna, agrees, saying:

It was necessary to reach this ‘green’ turning point, that is enclosed in the general context in the evolution of mobility.

Isbrand Ho, Managing Director at BYD Europe, added:

This is certainly an important day for BYD, not least the geographical significance of Messina and that BYD eBuses are now seen in service right across Europe – north, south, east and west.

We are seeing an increasing acceptance of pure electric mobility, not only from public transport companies but, perhaps more importantly, from the general public itself – it is the people that drive change – he said. “I’m very pleased that BYD has both the products and the charging-infrastructure in place to meet customer demand and we will continue with our commitment to bring 100% emissions-free eBus transport to European towns and cities.

Source: BYD

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