A Scottish manufacturer has signed a deal worth nearly £2 billion to build electric buses for the Chinese market.
Alexander Dennis, based in Larbert, near Falkirk, announced the joint venture with BYD, a Chinese firm, during the state visit by Xi Jinping, China’s president.
The contract for 200 single-decker buses a year represents turnover of about £660 million over the next ten years for Alexander Dennis.
The Scottish firm is also in “advanced discussions” to extend the deal to include double-decker buses, which could triple its value. Alexander Dennis is already the UK’s biggest bus manufacturer, employing 2,500 people in Scotland and 1,500 overseas.
The contract was signed by Colin Robertson, the chief executive of Alexander Dennis, and Wang Chuanfu, the founding chairman of BYD.
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Mr Robertson said the deal was a “fine example of British-Chinese cooperation and two innovative companies working together to create cleaner, greener transport solutions”.
The deal will help China’s goal of “fully-electrified public transport” to help tackle the country’s chronic urban air pollution problem, Mr Wang added.