The BYD Qin EV [File photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)]

June 26 (NBD) -- Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD announced on Tuesday it had opened its first plant in Canada, according to Reuters.

The 45,000 sq.ft. Ontario-based facility is reported to initially focus on assembling buses for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), a public transport agency.

National Business Daily noticed that the TTC has already placed an order for 10 fully electric BYD buses with the new plant, with an option for an additional 30 BYD buses.

As traditional automakers withdraw from Canada, municipalities across the country are doubling their efforts to tackle climate change through zero-emissions transit, Ted Dowling, vice-president of BYD Canada, said.

On the same day, BYD held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of its new global design center in Shenzhen, the headquarters of the carmaker. The design hub will output design works covering passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles as well as such rail transit solutions as SkyRail and SkyShuttle.

BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu said at the ceremony that the company's products will be empowered by "technology plus design", instead of "technology" alone.

Founded in 1995, BYD is one of the oldest EV manufacturers in China, with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway as its largest single shareholder. To extend its footprints worldwide, the automaker has set up its North American headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles and overseas production bases in countries including India and France.

BYD sold close to 250,000 electric vehicles in 2018, followed by Tesla, and the next two leading sellers of EVs, China's BAIC and BMW, fell behind by around 100,000 units.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn