Sixt to purchase 100,000 electrical automobiles from China’s BYD • TechCrunch

Automobile rental firm Sixt mentioned Tuesday it intends to buy over 100,000 electrical automobiles from Chinese language automaker BYD for its European fleet between now and 2028. Sixt has initially solely dedicated to purchasing “a number of thousand” EVs, the primary of which will probably be delivered this 12 months, the corporate mentioned in a press release.

Sixt mentioned it’s going to first deploy its new BYDs to Germany, France, the Netherlands and the U.Okay. within the fourth quarter of 2022.

The settlement comes a few weeks after competitor Hertz introduced plans to order as much as 175,000 Basic Motors EVs over the following 5 years. Hertz has additionally signed offers to purchase 1000’s of Polestar and Tesla automobiles with a purpose to attain its objective of a 25% EV fleet by the tip of 2024.

Sixt’s cope with BYD is in service of its personal sustainability objective — the German automotive rental big hopes to affect 70% to 90% of its fleet in Europe by 2030. By the tip of 2022, Sixt has promised to supply 20 new electrical and plug-in fashions, “together with a spread of Audi, Opel, Renault, BMW, Peugeot, Tesla and now BYD,” in response to a Sixt spokesperson.

On BYD’s finish, the partnership with Sixt is the corporate’s first with a automotive rental agency in Europe. The Chinese language automaker has, over the previous couple of years, made a concerted push into Europe, starting with the launch of the Tang electrical SUV in Norway in 2020. Final week, BYD shared presale pricing for 3 EV fashions it’s going to promote in Europe: the Han sedan and the Tang, every for €72,000, and the Atto 3 SUV for €38,000. It’s the final one, the Atto, that Sixt will initially be shopping for, in response to each corporations.