BYD makes green bus push

Battery and electric car maker BYD will build new plants and expand into alternative-fuel bus production, the South China Morning Post reported. BYD announced that it has agreed to buy bus maker Hunan Midea Coach Manufacturing for US$8.8 million. The firms also said it would build two new plants, one in Changhsha, Hunan province, and the other in Xi’an, Shaanxi province. The Changsha plant will be involved in manufacturing buses that run on alternative energy as well as minibuses and components. Both plants are expected eventually to be capable of producing 400,000 vehicles per year. Analysts estimated that BYD could spend up to US$878.3 million on the expansion plan. Shenzhen-based BYD, in which Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is an investor, earlier this month revived plans to float shares on the Shenzhen bourse.