São Paulo introduces 265 BYD e-buses within a 500-units delivery

São Paulo in Brazil has introduced 500 new battery-electric buses and announced it will no longer procure buses powered exclusively by diesel.

The City of São Paulo presented 500 new battery-electric buses during a public event that saw the vehicles displayed along Marginal Tietê. With the latest deliveries entering service, the municipal fleet now totals 1,759 electric buses (including 189 trolleybuses), making it the largest electric bus fleet operating in Brazil.

São Paulo increased its fleet from 460 to 1,095 vehicles during 2025 (the 1,000th units was delivered in November), the increasing to 1,271 buses by February 2026. São Paulo’s Transit Agency SPTrans (over 13,000 buses) has banned the procurement of new diesel buses already in 2022. This delivery marks reportedly the first consequence of such measure.

Looking at ICCT figures, Latin America’s electric bus fleet surpassed 9,000 vehicles in 2025 and is likely already above the 10,000-unit threshold.

In November 2025, Brazil has committed, together with Mexico, to allowing only zero emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales by 2040 at the latest, with an interim goal of at least 30% new sales by 2030. At the same time, an EUR 80 million Brazil E-Bus Credit Enhancement Fund has been established to accelerate the deployment of electric buses across Brazilian cities.

São Paulo ends procurement of diesel-only buses

The announcement marks a new procurement policy for the city’s public transport system, under which future acquisitions will no longer include buses powered exclusively by diesel.

The newly introduced vehicles will progressively increase the share of zero-emission buses operating across São Paulo’s urban bus network.

In brief

• How many electric buses were introduced? São Paulo presented 500 new battery-electric buses for its municipal public transport fleet.
• How many electric buses are now operating in São Paulo? The city’s fleet now totals 1,759 electric buses.
• How many buses were supplied by BYD? BYD delivered 265 vehicles, including D9W and BC22 models.
• What procurement decision did São Paulo announce? The municipality stated it will no longer purchase buses powered exclusively by diesel.

BYD supplied 265 of the 500 buses presented by the municipality, accounting for more than half of the latest fleet expansion. According to the manufacturer, this represents the largest single delivery of heavy-duty electric buses completed in Brazil.

Following the delivery, BYD now has nearly 550 electric buses operating in São Paulo and around 700 vehicles in service across Brazil.

The supplied vehicles include the D9W model and the BC22 articulated electric bus, designed for high-capacity urban routes. The BC22 is equipped with BYD’s Blade Battery technology, which is also used in the company’s passenger car range.

According to BYD, each electric bus can avoid between 125 and 204 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, depending on operating conditions. Based on the 265 buses delivered in this phase, the manufacturer states that the annual emissions reduction would be equivalent to planting more than 378,000 trees.

BYD also highlighted its manufacturing footprint in Brazil, where it produces electric bus chassis at its Campinas facility and batteries at its Manaus plant.