If you work in warehousing and logistics and you haven’t come across BYD yet, the chances are you will soon. Chinese-based BYD made the headlines in Warehouse & Logistics News earlier this year when their three-wheeled ECB18C electric forklift truck, powered by an Iron- Phosphate battery, was nominated as a finalist in the 2016 IFOY Awards.
This selection marks the first time in the history of IFOY that a truck designed and built in China has made it into the final round and confirms BYD’s status as a force to be reckoned with in the global fork truck market, even though it is relatively new to Europe.
I travelled to BYD’s global headquarters in Shenzen, China to find out more about the company and its products. I was shown round by BYD’s European Forklifts Director, Javier Contijoch and his colleagues who are working hard to roll out BYD’s trucks to the European market.
A WORLD FIRST
BYD is the world’s first forklift manufacturer and battery producer offering Iron-Phosphate ‘battery for life’ technology. With BYD’s maintenance free system there is no need to change batteries to recharge them, as the high voltage three-phase technology permits intermediate charging in just one hour, without memory effect.
BYD’s new range of cleaner, greener, top class warehouse trucks and batteries they supply for their trucks offer warehouse operators an alternative to the chore of having to swop fork truck batteries between shifts in dedicated battery changing rooms and then charging them. This breakthrough is set to make warehouses operators re-think how they power their truck fleets and have a major effect on the industrial battery market. BYD’s warehouse truck range includes counterbalance, pallet trucks, reach trucks and stackers, all based on BYD’s unique Iron-Phosphate ‘battery for life’ technology and delivered with a five-year warranty.
BYD’s trucks are built on quality and priced in line with other leading fork truck manufacturers. Various key components of BYD’s forklifts are bought in from European suppliers, including the motors, the control systems and the hydraulics and the seats, which come from Grammer. Even though BYD obtains all these parts from proven sources, before it can be used on the production line every single component destined for a BYD truck has to go through BYD’s testing facility, which is rigorous in its procedures.
LARGEST IN THE WORLD
But there’s more to BYD than supplying forklift trucks and batteries for them. Founded only 20 years ago, BYD is now the largest rechargeable battery manufacturer in the world, employing 180,000 employees, including 25,000 engineers, across its different divisions and is now listed on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. US investor Warren Buffett has a 10% stake. But despite his company’s rapid growth, Mr Wang Chuang Fu, BYD’s founder and the scientist who invented the iron-phosphate battery technology BYD’s products are based on, still holds 32% of the shares and remains actively involved in the business that he started.
To give an idea of BYD’s global reach, they supply ‘white label’ batteries and chargers for the leading mobile phone brands and other electronic items. If the phone in your pocket is not named after a piece of fruit, the chances are that you already own a piece of BYD kit in the form of the battery. On the vehicle side BYD produces electric buses, electric cars and hybrids and the batteries for them. In passing, BYD is also the world’s largest selling electric bus manufacturer, with one Chinese city recently placing an order for 3,000 buses and another signing up for 1,000.
This shows the extraordinary scope and ambition of this remarkable company.
Another area BYD is pushing is taxis. Because BYD’s batteries last longer between charges than those of other electric cars, they can cover 400 km on a single charge. They can also “opportunity charge,” working like BYD’s forklifts on a high voltage and going from 10% charge to full in a very short time. BYD will be bringing their electric cars to Europe in 2017/18, when the servicing network is expected to be in place.
BYD are also targeting mining, airport and port equipment, all running on their Iron-Phosphate batteries. In addition BYD provide solar power systems, including storage banks and charging towers for electric cars, all with the central vision of delivering a better customer experience and a greener future for mankind, based on the dream of electrification through solar energy.
The advantages of BYD’s new fork truck batteries are clear – they have zero emissions, contain no heavy metals and are manufactured under BYD’s direct control, in their own facilities. They are maintenance-free and fully sealed. As with BYD’s batteries for other vehicles, their fork truck batteries have a high charge rate, full in under an hour and can work in different environments including low temperatures. They are also extremely safe during operation.
The bottom line figures that BYD are quoting are certainly impressive – trucks using BYD’s Iron-Phosphate ‘battery for life’ technology save 80% on energy costs versus IC trucks and cost half as much to run as traditional batteries.
The speed of the charge process is remarkable – working a two-shift operation, a half hour changeover means a truck can recharge in that time.
On a single shift pattern BYD quote an annual energy saving of 1,750 Euros per truck and on two shifts, 3,400 euros per truck. Take that up to five shifts per truck per day and the potential savings become mouthwatering.
After two decades of outstanding success in the Far East, BYD are actively breaking into Europe and finding trade partners in our markets for their warehouse trucks and batteries. The market price for Lithium-Ion batteries for fork trucks is four to five times that of standard cells but BYD can turn out its Iron-Phosphate batteries cheaper than the market, because of the economies of scale they can achieve across their overall operation.
This will further strengthen the appeal of BYD’s solutions to costconscious warehouse operators.
Following a big European launch in 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Switzerland, BYD are now rolling out here in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. In a crowded forklift truck and battery market, the angle is the outstanding battery technology – BYD’s involvement will change the market once and for all. Their European headquarters in Rotterdam holds 6,000 counterbalance trucks and millions of parts ready for shipment. Gary Winter is BYD’s General Manager for the UK. On this showing he looks like being a very busy man for the foreseeable future.
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