Chinese Manufacturer Reinvents Heavy-duty Vehicles

Chinese manufacturer BYD reintroduced heavy-duty vehicles in Mexico through Grupo Modelo's under a 21-ton capacity new-energy vehicle (NEV) presentation, providing more comfort, safety and environmental responsibility. These first-of-its-kind vehicles could set an eco-friendly trend within the logistics chain.

Betting on the electrification of transportation, Build Your Dreams (BYD) Mexico distributed the largest fleet of fully electric trucks in Latin America to Mexico-based beer company Grupo Modelo, turning it into the first company in the country to own fully-electric heavy-duty vehicles.

The Chinese giant not only gave Modelo a 20 NEV fleet but also distributed lithium-powered forklifts to encourage an end-to-end green energy technology utilization in its distribution processes, starting with the loading of the beer onto the trucks and ending in the point-of-sale.

This strategy is part of Modelo's policy that establishes a 25 percent carbon emission reduction in its value chain by 2025, as freight movement companies contribute with up to 20 percent pollutant emissions in the country

“The sustainable virtuous circle from the distribution center to the store for sale to the public is closed and a zero-emissions project [which is] unique globally, is consolidated,” said Julian Villarroel, Vice president of Corporate Fleet Sales, BYD Mexico.

The BYD heavy-duty trucks are also powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries and promise not only zero-emission travels but silent ones as well, benefitting passersby. The vehicles also provide greater driving visibility with a smart monitoring system, an eight-year battery life and a 500,000-kilometer warranty.

“We hope for an electric logistics truck fleet consisting of 500 trucks in the next two years. By 2022, we will have another order for 30 electric trucks and 20 electric forklifts. Purchasing electric heavy-duty trucks from BYD is part of our strategy. We also became the first company to possess a 100 percent electric heavy-duty fleet in Mexico. Compared with diesel trucks, electric trucks can greatly reduce carbon emissions and benefit the environment,” said Rodrigo Albuquerque, Executive Director of Logistics, Grupo Modelo.

Chinese-BYD is confident that a synergy between the company and Mexico City’s government is not only possible due to the government’s openness to electromobility investment, but also thanks to “the new energy logistics gap in Mexico".

With this gap, BYD saw an opportunity to contribute with "green power to the local logistics and transportation industry [...] it is also consistent with the sustainable concepts proposed by the Mexican transportation industry,” said Zou Zhou, Country Manager, BYD Mexico.