BYD plans to set up two bus plants

Company's founder sees monorail as the firm's next area for major growth

BYD Co, China's largest electric vehicle maker, plans to set up two new factories in Latin America this year to produce electric buses, as it seeks to overcome obstacles in selling them to more cities at home.

The new factories will produce for the local markets and add to existing plants in the US, Hungary and Brazil. Expanding overseas has proved to be easier in some cases than expanding in China, said Senior Vice-President Stella Li. BYD expects its overseas electric bus business to turn profitable this year, she said.