LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) announced the extension and amendment to the existing contract with the BYD Motors Inc., to continue the EV (electric vehicle) testing Program. The initial contract, signed in December 2010 was extended for one year term, starting January 1, 2012 and ending December 31, 2012. The F3DM (Dual Mode) sedans are used in HACLA fleets to conduct housing inspections. During the last year, the fleet has traveled over 37,000 miles and the HACLA has seen considerable savings in gas expenses. This year, the Agency was able to negotiate new terms of agreement with the BYD Motor, Inc. and will continue the testing program with seven (7) BYD vehicles.
"HACLA has tracked the effectiveness of the BYD electric vehicles for the last year and estimate our savings per-car to be approximately 76% over that of our gasoline vehicles with the same mileage." said Ken Simmons, HACLA Interim-President & CEO. The Dual-Mode vehicle users have the ability to manually switch the vehicle to stay in all-electric vehicle or “EV mode” just like a conventional battery-electric vehicle (BEV) throughout the life of the car. However, if there is a requirement to go farther than 60 miles in a given day, the vehicle can be manually switched to plug-in-hybrid electric or ”PHEV mode.” HACLA continues to implement innovative technology to reduce costs and promote alternative green energy resources.