Jerry Brown caps China trip with factory deal
SHENZHEN -- On the last day of his China trip, Gov. Jerry Brown, visiting the headquarters of an electric car and bus manufacturer in Shenzhen, announced that the company would open a bus factory in Lancaster, the first Chinese-owned vehicle plant on American soil.
The company, Build Your Dreams, or BYD, plans to put 10 new plug-in buses on the streets of Long Beach beginning next year after assembling them in Lancaster.
Touring the company, Brown stepped onto a model of an electric bus that will be assembled in California. As the vehicle rolled along, the governor grabbed an overhead bar and did a couple of pull-ups, to the delight of company officials along for the ride.
Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, also looked at roughly a dozen electric and fuel-efficient cars made by the company, including a new electric hybrid that BYD officials have dubbed “the Prius killer.”
Brown was visibly impressed when company officials told him the new Qin auto gets 118 miles per gallon.
The company says its buses can run up to 150 miles with a full passenger load on a single charge.
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