BYD Motors, a US subsidiary of China's automaker BYD Company Ltd, announced on Wednesday a joint venture to launch the first electric bus leasing program of its kind in the United States.

An employee works on the window frame of an electric bus at the BYD Coach and Bus factory in Lancaster, California.

　　The new firm, established with an investment company Generate Capital Inc, will invest $200 million to purchase BYD's electric buses and then rent them out to American users, including universities and bus operators in multiple cities.

　　BYD Motor's President Stella Li believes the partnership will be critical to the development of electric vehicle technology by creating new financing alternatives to a "broader range of clients".

　　The US currently has around 300 electric buses in the country, two-thirds of which are manufactured by the Shenzhen-based carmaker.

　　Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) in Los Angeles county, one of the company's clients, estimates electrifying all its buses could save more than $46 million over the lifetime of a new fleet, equivalent to approximately $46,000 per bus annually, compared to a diesel one.