BYD electric-powered taxis run in Montreal

The first batch of Chinese-made electric-powered taxis have started to run on the streets here, a Quebec-based company said on Wednesday.

In total, more than 2,000 BYD pure electric e6 models are expected to hit the roads of the populous town in the province of Quebec in two years, according to the E-Taxi company, which is the first dealer in Canada for the Chinese automaker BYD.

"We had approval (from the government) a few weeks ago. We are very excited to be in Quebec," said Ted Dowling, vice president of BYD Canada.

He added that the "Montreal-style" BYD cars are built in Shenzhen in southern China.

In Quebec, with financial assistance from both federal and Quebec governments, the price of e6 can be brought down from 63,000 to 47,000 Canadian dollars (47,330 to 35,310 U.S. dollars), according to the co-founder of E-Taxi Fabien Cuong.

Among the major advantages of the BYD e6 model is that it offers a range up to 300 km in winter, which makes it three times more efficient than both the Kia Soul and the Nissan Leaf. Industry insiders believe that the arrival of BYD cars means much to the Canadian auto industry.

China's BYD is one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) producers in the world. Starting out as a battery maker in 1995, BYD produced its first EV model in 2008.