Chinese automaker and battery manufacturer BYD has previewed an all-electric coach in Paris, to an audience of public transport operators and authorities.

The BYD coach, developed using the company’s expertise in the electric bus segment, is currently under approvals testing prior to its introduction in Europe. Paris was chosen for the preview on account of a drive by the city’s mayor to reduce pollution from public transport.

With a range of 200km under typical operating conditions and a recharge time of 2.5 hours, the all-new BYD coach is suited for a range of transport applications in and around cities, such as shuttle services, city sightseeing, hotel and airport feeder services.

BYD’s Founder and Chairman Wang Chuanfu said that he was impressed with Paris’ plans to ensure that all of its 4,500 city buses are zero or low-emission by 2025, and the French capital’s admission that diesel-engine coaches are a major source of pollution. “This was a prophetic pronouncement – other cities have yet to target this particular class of vehicle, but of course they will in the future.”

Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe, noted the company will shortly be announcing plans to introduce the coach in Europe, with France as the first market. “Many of the technologies we have developed around our city bus range are applicable to this new model: the BYD pure electric coach. We are confident we have a vehicle which exactly suits the city’s needs”.