Rental firm orders 100,000 EVs from BYD

GERMAN rental car company Sixt will buy about 100,000 electric vehicles from China’s BYD under a partnership signed by the two companies this week.

It is the second large-scale purchase of EVs by a global rental firm in recent times and follows the record-setting Polestar/Hertz deal of some 65,000 units announced earlier this year.

The deal – which will help BYD establish a strategic foothold within the EU – will see Sixt order several thousand vehicles from the Chinese manufacturer for rental to customers from the fourth quarter of this year.

Sixt has agreed to purchase “around 100,000” more electric vehicles by 2028, the company said.

“Sixt offers easy-to-use, flexible, and limitless mobility to its customers every day,” said Sixt chief business officer Vinzenz Pflanz.

“With over one million units produced from January to August 2022, BYD is the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer in the area of eMobility.

“The agreement with BYD is an important milestone to deliver on our promise of putting significantly more e-cars onto the street. We are very much looking forward to our cooperation with BYD.”

Sixt will become Europe’s first rental car company to offer BYD vehicles, with the Atto 3 the first model to be made available to its customers.

The company will begin its initial rollout of BYD vehicles in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the UK before “exploring opportunities for cooperation in various (other) regions of the world.”

The order from BYD fits Sixt’s recently announced promise to significantly increase the share of electrified vehicles in its fleet and boost excitement for eMobility.

According to Mr Pflanz, Sixt’s European fleet will be 70 to 90 per cent electrified by 2030, covering a wide range of manufacturers and models.

He said the switch to electric vehicles is an integral part of the brand’s strategy to “lead the mobility sector into a sustainable future.”

The company is also looking to establish its own charging infrastructure and will expand its App, and the underlying ONE mobility platform, to a single sign-on process for hundreds of thousands of public charging points available to Sixt customers.

“Co-operations are a core part of the BYD business strategy,” said BYD Europe and International Co-operation Division general manager and managing director, Michael Shu.

“We are delighted to start our cooperation with Sixt, the car rental company with the world’s fastest-growing brand value and a very important key partner to BYD, as we take our first steps into the rental market.

“Our shared vision allows us to build our green dreams together, initially starting in Europe. We aim to inspire Sixt customers with our latest products and innovations in EV technology.

“These are exciting times for BYD, as our market leading solutions provide greater access, and more options for electric mobility. We look forward to a long and flourishing partnership with Sixt,” he said.