The Quebec manufacturer of electric buses Letenda, which sees the Chinese world number one Build Your Dreams (BYD) arriving at full speed in the rear view mirror, has no intention of being overtaken by its Asian rival.
“BYD, I tried to collaborate with them, but it didn’t work,” explained Nicolas Letendre, president of Letenda, last Wednesday, following announcing that Vermont was buying four of its buses.
“For them [BYD], Canada is like Brazil or Europe, it’s: “We’re coming to the Chinese style. We’re building a factory. We package our product that we think is the best”. They don’t know the particularities of the market,” he argued, saying that their bus is ill-suited to our climate.
Less known than Lion Electric, Letenda has its development center in Longueuil and a plant project in Saguenay. Moreover, it is already arousing the interest of the Governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, who came in person to the Council on International Relations of Montreal (CORIM) to praise his relationship with the Quebec company.
In total, the Quebec government invested $750,000 in the form of preferred shares in Letenda, which also received a grant of $1 million.
Its first majority shareholder is Nicolas Letendre. Its second is its vice-president, Jonathan Beaulieu. Its third is Japan’s Mitsui & Co. (USA), Inc, according to the Companies Registry.
“David versus Goliath”
While Prime Minister François Legault is preparing to invest $2.6 billion in the construction and conversion of garages and $2.4 billion in the purchase of electric buses, the arrival of new players is welcomed.
For Daniel Breton, CEO of Electric Mobility Canada (MEC), the manufacturer Letenda, with its buses with a range of 250 kilometers, can hope to have its share of the $5 billion cake, despite tough competition.
“It’s clear it’s David versus Goliath. There’s Lion that makes smaller buses too. The game will not be easy for Letenda, but the market is so vast that there is room for several players”, he analyzes.
According to the former PQ minister, it is surprising that BYD has not yet arrived more aggressively on the market given its strike force.
“BYD is the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world. It is not for nothing that Warren Buffett has invested in the company, ”he underlines.
Wealth of $28 billion
In the past two months, Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s company, has reduced its stake in BYD, but it still holds shares.
At the head of the Chinese empire of the electric vehicle, a man: Wang Chuanfu, whose fortune is around $28 billion, according to Forbes.
“To sell in the United States, we must respect 70% of American components. In Canada, we ask for 25% of Canadian components, so that leaves a small 5% with which we can play,” concludes Nicolas Letendre.
BYD did not respond to our interview requests.
► The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) bought four BYD midibuses at a price of $650,000 each, 95% subsidized by the federal government. Today, the STM says it is in discussion with Letenda for a possible pilot project.
Fondation: 1995
The head office: Shenzhen
CEO: Wang Chuanfu
Sales (2021): $29 billion
Profits (2021): 762 Millions $
Valuation: $135 billion
Employees: 288 200
Products:
- city bus
- School buses
- Trucks
- Forklifts
- Energy Blocks
- Cable cars
- Cars
Clients:
- Antelope Valley Transit Authority
- Denver RTD
- Los Angeles Department of Transportation
- Kansas City International Airport
- Woods Hole
- Anaheim Transportation Network
Sources : BYD et Forbes
