EV manufacturer BYD has announced a strategic collaboration with Levo – a joint venture between Fleet as a Service (FaaS) provider Nuvve, and capital investors Stonepeak, and Evolve. As part of the collaboration, BYD will implement Levo’s technology and capital to offer fully financed medium and heavy-duty BYD commercial EVs.
BYD (Build Your Dreams) Auto is a wholly owned subsidiary of BYD Co LTD, founded in China in 2003. It has since become one of the largest manufacturers of plug-in electric vehicles in the world. Last summer, the automaker launched its Tang SUV in Norway with plans to expand in Europe.
This past June, we reported that BYD was expanding its footprint in the US with a fully electric school bus capable of bidirectional charging. It’s another reason why a collaboration with a company like Nuvve makes a lot of sense.
Nuvve is a San Diego-based company specializing in transportation and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capabilities.
Electrek has previously covered the company over the past few years, as it has worked with EV companies to implement its technologies in school buses in New York. as well as on Blue Bird Buses electrified by Cummins in Peoria, Illinois.
Nuvve recently combined forces with two other companies to form Levo Mobility, LLC. Levo exists as a joint venture of Nuvve with Stonepeak Partners LP, and Evolve Transition Infrastructure LP.
Combining Nuvve’s technology with the other companies’ investment capital allows Levo to provide FaaS solutions to help fleets shift to electric vehicles quickly, with no upfront costs and full financing options.
With the company’s latest announcement, it looks to adapt its FaaS strategy to BYD’s lineup of commercial EVs.
BYD announces collaboration with Levo for V2G enabled EVs
As part of a press release from BYD, the automaker has shared news of its latest collaboration with Levo Mobility to implement Nuvve’s V2G technology into its commercial EV fleets.
BYD has also shared a timeline to deploy up to 5,000 BEVs fit with this V2G tech over the course of the next five years. BYD Motors president, Stella Li, spoke to the announcement:
The BYD-Levo collaboration has the potential to accelerate and transform the transportation sector at a critical time. This innovative potential partnership leverages state-of-the-art BYD and Nuvve technologies and will provide access to Stonepeak’s financing, which will lower the cost of medium- and heavy-duty battery electric vehicle adoption for fleets of all types including mass transit, municipalities, last mile delivery and school districts.
Future BYD EVs could soon be utilizing Nuvve’s bidirectional charging stations and proprietary software, enabling these commercial EVs to double as energy storage solutions that help stabilize their connected electrical grid and prevent blackouts.
This V2G technology will not only save future electric BYD fleets money by charging during off-peak hours, but will also enable revenue opportunities from utility companies on the grid.
Of the 5,000 potential EVs to be financed with BYD over the next five years, some may include yard tractors, drayage, and refuse trucks. That is, in addition to the aforementioned mass transit and last-mile delivery EVs.
As BYD’s potential new finance partner, Levo looks to help streamline electrification by providing fleet managers turnkey solutions that include everything needed to transition smoothly and quickly, not just the EVs themselves.
Through Levo, Nuvve will also provide BYD vehicles the associated charging infrastructure and energy management, as well as maintenance, all as a fixed monthly payment with no upfront cost.
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Author: Scooter Doll
Source: Electrek
