BYD, China's largest rechargeable battery maker and an ambitious automaker, recently said its first batch of electric buses will roll off the production line and go on sale by the end of this year, xinhuanet.com reported today.

The first phase of BYD's bus plant project will kick off next month in Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan province. The company signed an agreement on July 24 to take over Midea Coach Manufacturing Co., Ltd. for 60 million yuan ($8.78 million) from its owner Midea Group, one of the largest home appliances manufacturers in China.

Under the deal, BYD will pay cash for the entire equity assets of Midea Coach to take full control of the bus maker and turn it into BYD's new-energy bus and passenger vehicle production base in Changsha. BYD plans to start initial production of electric buses by the end of this year and produce car models C3, C6 and F2 later.

Through the acquisition, BYD will be automatically granted the government permission to manufacture buses and coaches. BYD will invest 3 billion yuan in the first phase of the construction. BYD's new bus base will be the biggest project in Hunan province's auto industry.

BYD, which currently has two auto manufacturing bases in China, sold 176,795 vehicles in the first half of this year, up 176% from a year earlier. The Shenzhen-based company aims to sell 400,000 vehicles in 2009, to be up 100% year-on-year.