BUENOS AIRES - Argentina plans to buy a fleet of electric buses from Chinese firm BYD, to supply a pilot project in several cities around the country, local media reported.

Citing a statement put out by the electric-vehicle maker, the daily La Voz said Thursday that "BYD was chosen" from among a handful of companies to provide 50 electric buses.

BYD's statement said it participated in a tender launched by the Environment Ministry of Argentina, and "the bid evaluation committee chose BYD amongst a pool of five bidders for its successful 12-meter electric bus, which is already widely used in cities such as London, Los Angeles (and) Amsterdam".

The company said it "expects to receive the necessary allocation within the next few weeks".

In addition, "to better satisfy market demands, BYD plans to build a new local manufacturing plant in Argentina," the company said, adding the move will bring foreign investment to Argentina and generate jobs.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, BYD employs some 160,000 people worldwide and operates an office in Los Angeles.

During a visit to Argentina by BYD senior managers in May 2016, Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Environment Minister Sergio Bergman "expressed their high expectations for the introduction of BYD technologies and electric vehicle models to their nation's public transportation systems," the company said.

BYD has been active in Argentina since 2011.