Azerbaijan wants to buy 3,000 electric buses
The Azerbaijani news portal abc.az reported on Azerbaijan’s plan to purchase 3,000 electric buses, citing Fariz Aliyev, the head of the transport policy department at the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan. Aliyev states that in the long term, all buses in Baku and on the Absheron peninsula, on which Baku is located, will be replaced by electric buses. The buses taken out of service there will be sent to other regions in the country and will later be replaced as well.
Aliyev emphasises that corresponding infrastructure is required for the introduction of electric buses. He added that Chinese company BYD plans to initially invest 34 million dollars in the production of buses with electric motors at the plant built in the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park. Considering domestic demand and export opportunities, annual production will be 500 buses. It is planned to create 800 new jobs as part of the project.
“Currently, buses are being purchased from three Chinese companies, and we are finding out which one is better. The buses of these companies differ from each other,” Aliyev told abc.az. However, he did not mention a preference or specify the differences.
Converting the bus fleet to electric buses is an exciting step in any case. After all, oil production is one of Azerbaijan’s most important economic sectors, and one might think that the country could thus continue to rely on combustion vehicles.
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