Chinese automotive firm, BYD, will supply the Zimbabwean government with 18 electric vehicles (EVs).
The country seeks to showcase green energy as the world gradually phases out the production of traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Zimbabwe’s Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) is also enquiring about the purchase of electric buses for use in the public transport sector, according to the Harare-based news site, The Herald.
News of CMED’s newly obtained EVs comes days after the Southern African nation’s minister for Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, said the country would increase the number of clean energy modes of transportation for its citizens in line with the rest of the developed world.
Mhona was speaking in Geneva, Switzerland, at the 85th Session of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC), where he participated in a panel discussion on climate change solutions in developing countries.
The minister reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s commitment to cooperate under the United Nations System and the adoption of the good practices and standards created by the ITC.
Zimbabwe would continue to use the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as guidance, something he described as critical for measuring progress as the country and world collectively push forward the message of sustainability, said Mhona.
Agenda 30, as the document has come to be known, is a shared blueprint outlining 17 objectives created to minimise suffering in the world. Some of these goals include zero hunger, zero poverty, clean drinking water, gender equality and responsible production and consumption.
CMED’s newly acquired BYD EVs are to be distributed to various locations, including at its EasyGo driving academy and the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, according to the website, AllAfrica.
BYD, the Warren Buffett-backed motoring giant, has officially become the world’s third most valuable automaker in 2022.
The Shenzhen-based firm enjoys a commanding presence in China but has increasingly expanded its reach, particularly into Europe, where demand for its electric vehicles is substantial.
In 2021, BYD delivered a pair of electric buses to South Africa, where they were incorporated into Cape Town’s Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) fleet.
GABS company engineer, Gideon Neethling reported the two electric buses operated the busy line between the suburb of Retreat and the inner city and performed without a hitch over the multiple-month trial.
BYD has also delivered electric vehicles to Egypt and Mauritius, according to InsideEvs.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202302250036.html
https://insideevs.com/news/521926/byd-electric-buses-south-africa/
