BYD speeds up monorail mass transit system

New energy carmaker BYD is speeding up to expand the market for its SkyRail monorail mass transit system to solve problems such as traffic congestion and air pollution.

After five years of research and development costing 5 billion yuan ($783 million), BYD launched its first commercial SkyRail line in Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, on Sept 1, and was upgraded to automatic driving last year.

The company has signed several domestic and international deals, including in the Philippines, Egypt, Brazil, Morocco and Cambodia.

BYD's director of President's Office Li Wei said the straddle-type monorail requires only one-fifth of the building cost and one-third of the construction time compared with a subway system.

Its one-way transportation capacity is 10,000 to 30,000 passengers each hour, she added.

With its concept of technology-based and innovation-oriented, BYD suggested to build a multi-dimensional transportation system to remove transportation from ground level and develop either overhead or underground transportation.

The SkyRail features BYD's proprietary iron-phosphate batteries, autonomous driving technology, small turning radius, low noise and a short time construction frame.