BYD Commercial Vehicles: owner, models, markets and what the name means
Facts checked United States status as of 4 September 2026
- Private
- Electric-native
- SEHK 1211
- SZSE 002594
Listing: Hong Kong (SEHK 1211) since 2002 and Shenzhen (SZSE 002594)
BYD's commercial arm builds battery-electric buses, coaches, trucks and forklifts. It is the part of BYD that Americans can actually buy from: the plant at Lancaster, California has been running since 2013, covers about 550,000 square feet, and builds transit buses, school buses and trucks with a unionised workforce represented by SMART Local 105. Its customers include Californian and Oregon school districts and the Antelope Valley Transit Authority. The North American business now trades under the name RIDE, from the same Pasadena address as BYD Motors.
In Europe the base is Komárom in northern Hungary. BYD announced a roughly €20 million bus assembly plant there in 2017 — its first wholly owned European vehicle plant — on a 66,000 square-metre site with an initial capacity of up to 400 buses a year. In 2025 it began an expansion costing €75.7 million that adds 29,000 square metres and a research and testing laboratory, tripling capacity to about 1,250 vehicles a year and creating 620 jobs. Truck manufacturing has also been announced for Hungary.
The division is a small share of BYD's volume — 6,909 commercial vehicles in August 2026 against 433,384 passenger cars — but it is the oldest part of BYD's overseas manufacturing footprint, predating the passenger-car plants by a decade.
A division of BYD Company rather than a separately launched marque; the founding year given here is BYD's entry into vehicle manufacturing. Its North American business trades as RIDE.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 比亚迪商用车 “BEE-yah-DEE shahng-yong-chuh” 比亚迪 BYD + 商用车 shāngyòngchē 'commercial vehicle' |
|---|---|
| Also written | BYD Bus, BYD Trucks and RIDE |
| Owner | BYD |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, China |
| Origin | China |
| Vehicles | Buses and coaches |
| Segment | Commercial |
| United States | Sold in the United States — Yes. BYD's electric buses and trucks are built and sold in the United States from Lancaster, California, where the plant has operated since 2013; the business trades as RIDE. This is the only part of BYD that sells vehicles to US customers. |
| Official site | ride.co |
| Lancaster, California plant | Operating since 2013; about 550,000 sq ft; unionised workforce (SMART Local 105) building transit buses, school buses and trucks |
| US brand name | The North American business trades as RIDE, sharing BYD Motors' Pasadena, California address |
| Komárom, Hungary plant | Announced 2017 with a roughly €20m investment; 66,000 sq m site; initial capacity up to 400 buses a year |
| Komárom expansion | €75.7m expansion begun 2025 adding 29,000 sq m and an R&D testing laboratory, tripling capacity to about 1,250 vehicles a year and creating 620 jobs |
| Volume | 6,909 commercial vehicles in August 2026, up 225% year on year, against 433,384 passenger vehicles |
Who owns BYD Commercial Vehicles?
Lü Xiangyang holds a stake in BYD since February 1995.
Wang Chuanfu's cousin, BYD's co-founder and early financial backer; he has held BYD shares through Guangzhou Rongjie Investment. The current percentage was not verified.
BYD owns BYD Commercial Vehicles at 100% since 2003.
BYD's bus, truck and forklift business is a division of BYD Company, not a separate marque. Its North American arm trades as RIDE and builds vehicles at Lancaster, California; its European bus plant is at Komárom, Hungary.
The full ownership page for BYD Commercial Vehicles · Is BYD Commercial Chinese?
Where BYD Commercial Vehicles is sold
Recorded in 3 market s: CN, United States and HU. Where a company publishes only its principal markets, that is a floor and not a complete list.
| Country | Code | Market page |
|---|---|---|
| China | CN | no page yet |
| United States | US | Chinese cars in the United States |
| Hungary | HU | no page yet |
BYD Commercial Vehicles: questions people ask
- Does BYD sell anything in the United States?
- Yes — buses and trucks, not cars. BYD's Lancaster, California plant has built battery-electric buses since 2013 and the North American business now trades as RIDE. No BYD passenger car is sold to US retail buyers.
- Are BYD buses made in America?
- The ones sold in the United States are. RIDE says its transit buses are built at Lancaster, California by unionised employees.
- Where does BYD build buses for Europe?
- At Komárom in northern Hungary, opened in 2017 as BYD's first wholly owned European vehicle plant. An expansion begun in 2025 triples capacity to about 1,250 vehicles a year.
- What is RIDE?
- RIDE is the trading name of BYD's North American commercial-vehicle business. Its own site describes it as the US spinoff of BYD and says its buses are built at Lancaster, California.
Related
Sources for BYD Commercial Vehicles
- Legal Planet (UC Berkeley / UCLA law schools), A Tour of BYD's Factory in Lancaster, California. Read . Plant size, products, union workforce, the RIDE name and the absence of US consumer car sales
- RIDE (BYD Motors Inc.), Our Story. Read . RIDE describes itself as the US spinoff of BYD and confirms Lancaster manufacturing
- BYD Europe, BYD opens its first owned bus plant in Europe in Komarom, Hungary. Read . Company release: 2017 opening, €20m investment, 66,000 sq m site, up to 400 buses a year
- electrive, Electric Buses for Europe: BYD triples capacity at Komárom plant. Read . €75.7m expansion, 29,000 sq m, 620 jobs, capacity to about 1,250 vehicles a year
- CnEVPost, BYD sold 440,293 NEVs in Aug, up 17.84% year-on-year. Read . August 2026 commercial-vehicle volume