Business Wire | Apr 20, 2021 08:05AM EDT

BYD and SMART Union Applaud Biden Administration Plan to Build Back Better with Support for Zero Emission Battery Electric Buses

Apr. 20, 2021

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 20, 2021--BYD (Build Your Dreams) and its SMART union workforce applauds Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden Administration and their support for converting US transit systems buses and school buses to battery electric zero emission systems. As a global corporation, BYD, with its US headquarters in Los Angeles and manufacturing facility in Lancaster, California, represents 40 percent of the nation's manufacturing capacity for battery electric buses and is committed to President Joe Biden's goal to "Build Back Better."

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BYD and SMART Union Applaud Biden Administration Plan to Build Back Better with Support for Zero Emission Battery Electric Buses (Photo Courtesy of BYD)

Unfortunately, federal regulations set to take effect in December will disrupt the President's efforts. A provision in law enacted by Congress in 2019 that was intended to target anti-competitive practices in the freight railcar manufacturing industry, inadvertently swept up BYD and now threatens the President's efforts to achieve zero-emission public transportation vehicles. This provision in law will not only disrupt the President's emission goals to replace 50,000 heavy-duty diesel transit buses nationwide, but it will hurt hundreds of union employees, who are members of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Union (SMART), Local 105, and their families in Lancaster, California. If this provision in law is allowed to become effective, communities and transit agencies across America will not be able to procure the battery-electric buses they seek.

BYD's American Coach & Bus facility employs American union workers who are bringing advanced technology to American cities that will help achieve the President's emissions goals. BYD/SMART Local 105 Apprenticeship Program helps BYD and its employees stay competitive by advancing the skill set needed in preparing a new technology geared toward the future of electrification.

Together BYD and SMART stand ready to assist the Administration in any way possible and invite President Biden and Vice President Harris to visit us and see for themselves how their plan can help real American workers, their communities and the nation.

ABOUT BYD

The Official Sponsor of Mother Nature(tm), BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is the world's leading electric vehicle company with proven innovative technology for cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, and rail systems - like SkyRail. Globally, BYD is committed to corporate social responsibility, monitoring our supply chain in terms of human rights, environmental safety, hazardous substance control and intellectual property rights. We select only suppliers who share our commitment to labor practices, human rights standards and the environment.

BYD has 220,000 employees across the globe, including nearly 1,000 in North America. For more information, please visit en.byd.com or follow BYD on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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CONTACT: Jim Skeen Media Relations Specialist jim.skeen@byd.com 661-264-8365