(Yicai Global) Jan. 11 -- Shares of BYD surged to a historic high today after the Chinese carmaker said that it has obtained its largest electric bus deal abroad.

BYD's stock price [SHE:002594] was 2.4 percent up at CNY232.94 (USD36) in the afternoon after rallying momentarily to CNY245 this morning. The shares have risen almost 40 percent over the past month.

The automaker will deliver 1,002 electric buses to Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, by mid-2022, Li Ke, senior vice president at the Shenzhen-based firm told Yicai Global yesterday.

Local companies Superpolo and Busscar will help by supplying parts for the vehicles that will operate public bus routes.

BYD has received orders for almost 1,600 electric buses in total from Colombia so far and its vehicles are used in cities such as Medellin and Cali, Li added.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine