Last week, BYD debuted a brand new electric bus which is set to replace the current London Routemaster. The bus was unveiled on 21st May 2024 at the London Bus Museum and BYD has been running buses in the UK for eleven years and now and has 1,800 on the roads here. The new BD11 is a double-decker bus with 400 miles of range and a huge 532kWh battery pack, the largest battery pack ever used in any vehicle in the UK. Out of that 532kWh, 457kWh is usable. BYD hasn't yet quoted an official range, but it did state that it does 0.9mi/kWh so when the sums are done, it does come to around 400 miles.
BYD has a long history of making batteries and more recently electric cars. Its cars use its unique and trademarked Blade battery, which helps form part of the structure and mean that they are incredibly safe. The new BD11 uses the same battery pack, which means the bus could remain in working order for up to 20 years.
Charging that large battery could come with its challenges, but BYD has made it capable of 500kW charging, when using overhead connections - otherwise known as pantograph. However, it can also be charged at depots and can accept more than one charging connector at once to charge even faster.
The new BD11 could replace the outgoing hybrid bus, otherwise known as the 'Boris Bus'
The BYD BD11 will come as the pictured double decker later this year and will then come as a lower roof version in 2025.
In terms of price, the BD11 is assai to cost around £400,000 each and London's Go-Ahead is set to order 100 from the Chinese company. These are around £100,000 cheaper than buses made in the UK.
