The move comes after the firm became the first operator in Europe to add the BYD e6 to its fleet.

RTC CEO Sjaak de Winter said: ‘The experience with our first three BYD e6 taxis has been very positive – they are liked by our passengers and drivers and they have proved very economical to operate. We look forward to expanding our fleet of these environmentally friendly and cost effective vehicles.’

BYD’s chairman Wang Chuanfu said: ‘We are delighted that major European cities such as Rotterdam are recognising the role that BYD’s battery technology can play in improving air quality in urban environments. Our e6 taxis – and our ebus range of pure electric city buses – rely on a proven and reliable battery technology, which delivers excellent range and real operating cost advantages to the operators. It’s great to be able to co-operate further with our friends at RTC.’

The current vehicles have been deployed in cities such as London – where a fleet of 32 e6s is expected to increase to 200 in the early months of next year, Brussels and Barcelona and further fleet sales are expected soon.