Remember when all the manufacturing jobs seemed to be going to China? How's this for a role reversal?

WINDSOR, Ont. -- If things go according to plan, Chinese electric bus company BYD will be opening a manufacturing plant in Windsor, according to a new agreement.

"For the last year, there have been a lot of people courting BYD," Mayor Eddie Francis told The Star on Saturday as he explained the recently inked exclusivity agreement between the city and BYD.


A prototype of the BYD eBus

"Basically, what we're saying is we're engaged. And we have a lot of work to do in the next little while to get to the altar."

The agreement means the company will stop shopping around for a North American municipality to manufacture buses while Transit Windsor puts the vehicles in its fleet and runs pilot tests, the mayor said. The company says the buses will spell huge savings for the city in both fuel and operational costs.