I find it interesting that this article doesn't mention the Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) debacle. The political mess surrounding ART is far from entirely due

I find it interesting that this article doesn't mention the Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) debacle. The political mess surrounding ART is far from entirely due to BYD, but ART placed what I believe is the largest order so far for 60-foot electric buses from BYD. The comment about driving the 60-foot units long distances with generators is the way that they've delivered the first several units. The situation has decayed to the point that Albuquerque has considered trying to terminate the contract. The first several units delivered have had significant quality problems, and recently the city's inspector general released a report suggesting that audits showing the buses comply with Buy America regulations were falsified and they are potentially ineligible for expected federal grants. Workers in the city transportation department have voiced concerns about many of the components on the buses being apparently manufactured in China and lacking US certification marks and, in some cases, English documentation. Delivery on the remaining buses in the order continues to move farther back. The City went into the project understanding that the 60-foot buses were a new product for BYD, and even expects federal funding from a grant program for employing new technologies. But at this point BYD is a significant part of the near complete failure of a major project built around their product. It seems worth mentioning that their customers are not all happy. To ART's credit, the city IG reports that massive pressure for the city forced BYD to begin delivering units earlier than they otherwise would have (but still significantly behind schedule). https://www.abqjournal.com/1116887/mayor-outlines-major-problems-with-art-including-inability-to-charge-buses.html https://www.abqjournal.com/1116887/mayor-outlines-major-prob... https://www.abqjournal.com/1182473/report-criticizes-art-project.html https://www.abqjournal.com/1182473/report-criticizes-art-pro... https://www.abqjournal.com/1182905/report-company-sent-faulty-art-bus-due-to-city-pressure.html https://www.abqjournal.com/1182905/report-company-sent-fault... Part of the grant program the city is using to fund the project is that the city will send one or two units to an FTA facility for inspection and testing. That testing is expected to result in the FTA certifying the model for future non-experimental federal grant programs, but most people involved in the ART project now have significant doubts about whether or not BYD will be able to deliver units that pass this process.