SINGAPORE, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Minister in Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing on Friday witnessed the official launch of the first batch of HDT electric and eco-friendly taxis, powered by new energy vehicle producer BYD Co Ltd. head-quartered in China's Shenzhen.
The taxis were the first fleet of Singapore's fully-electronic taxis, using BYD's e6 model. The electric taxi service was also launched with a special co-partnership with Grab to offer more options for consumers.
According to HDT Singapore Taxi Pte Ltd, 50 cars were introduced at the launching ceremony on Friday and the fleet will grow up to 100 under the terms of Taxi Service Operator's License (TSOL) by June this year.
HDT noted the launch is part of the Electric Vehicle project co-led by Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) to analyze the viability of electric transportation in the city state.
Tan Kong Hwee, director of transport engineering at EDB, said the launch of e-taxi trial is an important step in Singapore's journey towards sustainable mobility, and is a testament to the growing electric mobility ecosystem.
"As a regional leader in mobility technologies, we welcome companies like HDT to develop, test and commercialize new mobility technologies and innovations through Singapore," said Tan.
HDT also expressed their confidence, adding that the trial will yield positive results and in time to come, and the company plans to apply for a full TSOL which will allow it to operate up to 800 taxis or more.
