Chinese automaker BYD opened its first bus assembly plant in Canada Tuesday. The 45,000-square-foot facility in Newmarket, Ontario, is the first new electric bus plant to open in the region in decades.

“We are dedicated to partnering with municipalities across Canada, and we are passionate about our mission to create a cleaner environment here in North America and across the globe,” BYD President Stella Li said.

BYD has been active in Canada through buses operating in Toronto, Victoria and Grand Prairie. However, the Newmarket factory is the company’s first assembly plant in Canada. For now, Newmarket will focus on building 10 purely electric buses for the Toronto Transit Commission.

“As traditional auto manufacturing is withdrawing from Canada, municipalities across the country are re-doubling their efforts to tackle climate change through zero-emissions transit,” Ted Dowling, Vice President, BYD Canada, said. “We’re going to put Canada on the map as a North American leader in Electric Bus assembly,” said Dowling.