BYD Looks to Expansion of Lancaster, CA Plant

BYD started in California in 2011. Their first big order for an electric bus came from the City of Long Beach and now they have 60 new orders from Los Angeles Metro and with University orders from Stanford and Cal Berkeley. The BYD team has since established a manufacturing foothold in the Americas with the procurement of the Lancaster, California plant near Ave H and Division. The electric Bus is their foundation in Lancaster but they are working on production of electric trucks and forklifts, which they have recently started producing. They now have the largest single building in Lancaster with their 450,000 square feet facility with a total staff of 700 with plans of producing 1,500 electric buses per year. We also noticed they purchases 160 acres of land at 50th West at H according to public records. This is the only large parcel of land of this size in this area, but it is currently zoned as Rural Residential once house per 2.5 acres. It is hard to imagine that they bought this land without some zoning concessions from the city of Lancaster. This large parcel is about a mile west of Michaels Distribution center. Gas lines run on Ave H which also has electric power, but there is no water or sewage line to 50th West at this point. BYD purchased this property in 2016, so looks like some changes to the area are coming in the future.

BYD’s Electric Bus Expansion in Lancaster and Globally

BYD the electric bus manufacturing company in Lancaster will soon have on the road 60 foot long buses that can travel up to 300 miles on a single charge. This doubles the distance from the prior bus. BYD “Build Your Dreams” has launched into Chicago and New York, as well as, Los Angeles. They have been operating in Lancaster since 2013, and they are on track to deliver 300 news buses this year. Their first year they only produced 50 buses. They will build and deliver a variety of all-electric bus models, including 14 60-foot-long articulated buses that can carry 120 people with a range of up to 200 miles on one charge, 30 commuter coaches and 41 40-foot standard buses. The 40-foot buses cost $660,000, compared with $500,000 for a diesel hybrid according to reports. The company employs about 300 workers currently and may increase to 1000 by 2018. The company has expanded beyond is Long Beach initial bus footprint to Gardena, Greater LA, Denver, Canada, Chicago and New York. Additionally, Silicon Valley has requested commuter buses with coffee bars, video games and more luxury interiors. This is one of a number of areas in Antelope Valley where job growth in growing and showing a long term future foot print.

New Positive Jobs News on the Antelope Valley Horizon

Northrop Grumman was awarded the “B3” new stealth bomber contract, but it is under appeal by Lockheed and Boeing. Lockheed also has a presence in Palmdale, if there is any change maybe Lockheed will get some input. The entire bidding process takes time, so it looks like Northrup will get the bid unless there was any illegal backdoor deals. But there is no evidence of that. Additionally, BYD is building electric buses and expanding their footprint in other cities and States. Also Kinkishiryo which is also in Palmdale has been building some rail cars for the Metro Rapid Transit system. They were going to pull out of Palmdale at one point, but tempers and accusations cooled. There are several solar power facilities taking place on the west side. These projects are being built and jobs are operating. Once the conduction faze is complete then many of those construction jobs will be gone. But it seems as soon as a project is completed then another one gets started. The sun keeps shining on solar in Lancaster and LA County land. More engineering jobs like these especially the new stealth bomber and the bus and train construction and manufacturing creates a need for housing in ownership and rentals. This all increases the value of land over time. This is all positive news for real estate and land investment.

BYD Increases Bus Sales In Washington State

AVPress LANCASTER - BYD's electric bus factory got a boost with Washington state transportation officials' selection of BYD for 10 of 12 types of electric buses expected to be ordered by Washington transit agencies and other entities. The selection does not constitute orders for bus production, but it sets price agreements for buses that Washington transit agencies, colleges, cities, Indian nations and nonprofit organizations can order over the next five years, Washington officials said. "It's huge news, huge news," Mayor R. Rex Parris said. "We've always been very confident the world was going to wake up, that this is the new form of bus transportation. There's not any serious competition anywhere in the world." The Washington State Department of Transportation Heavy Duty Bus Request for Proposal is intended to allow agencies to buy new buses without having to perform their own solicitation, analysis and awards, said David Chenaur, a business analyst with the department's public transportation division. In all, the department approved 26 categories of buses of varying lengths and engines - clean diesel, hybrid, compressed natural gas, plug-in electric and on-route charging electric - for a potential total purchase of 800 buses, Chenaur said. Link Transit in Wenatchee, Washington, has already ordered five BYD buses, he said. "These orders put us into a great position for expansion," said Micheal Austin, BYD America vice president.The company employs more than 300 people at the Lancaster plant and elsewhere in Southern California, he said. BYD's buses were the only ones with wireless on-routing charging approved by Washington officials, the company said."Electric buses are no longer a science fair project. With BYD now producing a long-range bus in nearly every category we have proven the technology is here to stay," Macy Meshati, BYD Coach & Bus vice president of sales, said in the company's announcement. BYD has a contract with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for up to 25 buses, and a 10-bus contract with Long Beach Transit. The first five Metro buses were delivered in May.The Antelope Valley Transit Authority also plans to buy 29 electric buses beyond the two BYD buses it already has. BYD officials in May 2013 dedicated the Lancaster plant, which is the first Chinese-owned vehicle plant in the United States. BYD officials are talking with city officials about doubling the plant's size, not only to accommodate increased bus production but to build electric delivery trucks as well, Parris said. More expansion could follow that, he said. Parris said the firm's local employment is expected to reach 700 in two years. "BYD is going to be bigger than aircraft (employment) has ever been," Parris said. In January, GO-Biz, the state's economic development office, allocated $3 million in tax credits to BYD. The credits will be given provided the company meets certain employment and investment milestones. Under the tax credit agreement, BYD must ramp up its workforce to at least 243 workers in 2016, to 388 in 2017 and to 625 in 2018. BYD must pay a minimum annual salary of $27,040 and an average annual salary of $44,110 by 2018, under the agreement, and is required to make investments of $51 million by 2018.

BYD Electric Car Maker Stock Tumbled in Heavy Trading

CNBC news reported recently that Shares in BYD which is traded in Hong Kong plunged nearly 47% or more than $1.2 Billion. BYD in based in Shenzhen China and makes electric vehicles, batteries and mobile phone handsets. It also makes the Electric Bus in Lancaster, Ca. According to the Business News reports the company can’t account for the sudden drop in price. Stock price drops of this magnitude are most usually based on hard company information. So why the drop? It is not known at this time, but it appears someone knows something. The 20% increase in stock sales volume indicates something. Local news reports speculated it has something to do with the Russia, yet other news reports indicate BYD has little exposure to the Russian market as most of their sales are in the Chinese mainland.

BYD Ltd Electric’s Technology for Los Angeles County and Lancaster California’s Jobs Future

The city of Lancaster and BYD (Build Your Dreams) has been in discussion since early last year for a potential electric car manufacturing plant in Lancaster Ca. The city sent a delegation to China for that purpose in 2010. BYD manufactures an electric crossover vehicle called the e6 electric and said it expected to start selling the car in the U.S. The city of Lancaster would like BYD to manufacture and assemble this vehicle and others in Antelope Valley. Also, during the Schwarzenegger administration there was talk of the city of Los Angeles pledging to buy BYD manufactured electric buses if the plant was based in LA County. BYD has yet to make any formal announcements regarding their plans. Although, they have established a US headquarters in the city of Los Angeles, and expect up to 2000 employees over time to administer their US operations in their downtown Los Angeles location.
They further set up roots by establishing a collaborative partnership to develop a grid-scale battery project for renewable energy storage with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) last year. Also, about a year ago the City of Lancaster, BYD and KB Home announced the completion of a new earth-friendly prototype home utilizing BYD’s solar, battery and LED Lighting systems. The plan is to potentially lead to more affordable solar electricity and energy storage options for homeowners. The city accelerated the development process through the planning department, so KB and BYD could construct the prototype home immediately. The manufacturing and assembly of electric cars and buses would certainly be a boom for the city of Lancaster and Los Angeles County; as such a move would create jobs and future growth to a city that was damaged by the housing crisis.
BYD was founded by Wang Chuan-Fu in 1995 in Shenzhen, China. He is a chemist and part of the Chinese Dream as he raised $300,000 from relatives to manufacture rechargeable batteries. Since then BYD has become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cell-phone batteries. They have also raised $250 million from Warren Buffet toward their e6 vehicle. They plan on manufacturing 800,000 e6 cars powered by lithium-ion batteries, where they indicate they intend to start selling the e6 in the US at a price of about $40,000.
In addition they have established a solar cell and solar panel technology, where they would like to establish their solar systems in combination with large energy storage systems that they currently develop. Based on news reports they plan on moving rapidly in developing and expanding in the solar panel arena. This relationship with the city of Lancaster works well as solar is expanding in the valley and Mayor Parrish projects that Lancaster will produce more energy than it consumes with its solar expansion.

We will wait and see if BYD expands manufacturing in the Antelope Valley, but the prospect looks promising for real estate and land values if the projects develop here.