On May 19, BYD and its local distributor Abriley S.A. in Uruguay delivered a fleet of 20 units of 12m electric buses to public transport operator CUTCSA in the capital, Montevideo. Dr. Luis Lacalle Pou, the President of Uruguay witnessed the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Executive Tower in Montevideo’s Plaza Independencia.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was also attended by Luis Alberto Heber, Minister of Transport and Public Works; Omar Paganini, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining; Christian Di Candia, Mayor of Montevideo City; Juan Antonio Salgado, President of CUTCSA, and other national authorities, city officials, CUTCSA board members, as well as officials from BYD and Abriley.
Juan Antonio Salgado mentioned that in spite of the effects of COVID-19 on public transportation, CUTCSA and transportation in general are “continuously looking toward the future, as we know there are better times to come and we cannot stop implementing initiatives that, in the future, will be good for all of the transportation and the city”. He also stated that the electric buses will help electrify 100% of the vehicles used today along the CA1 and D1 lines that circulate in central areas of Montevideo City, significantly reducing noise and air pollution.
Dr. Luis Lacalle Pou, President of Uruguay, celebrated the impact of the special initiative in the midst of difficult times, saying that it promotes caring for the environment for future generations, an issue that is usually relegated to others without proper investments. The president added that this transportation project helps build greater sovereignty, especially for a country like Uruguay that is not an oil producer but is a strong power generator.
Mr. Attie, President of Abriley and distributor of BYD in Uruguay, who was unable to attend the event due to the restrictions caused by COVID-19, expressed to the National Authorities of Uruguay his immense pride in such an important milestone for the country’s development and its transport, and noted that “this project began when Abriley imported the first 100% electric bus ever as an independent distributor to Latin America, and today Uruguay becomes one of the leaders in Latin America in electrifying its transport.”
