On March 18, BYD said that investment in Brazilian electric vehicle factories would increase from the previously announced 3 billion reais to 5.5 billion reais (approximately US$1.1 billion), an increase of approximately 80%, to speed up the construction of the Brazilian factory.
In conjunction with the factory, BYD also plans to build five residential buildings to accommodate 4,230 employees. The plant will have an initial annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and will produce pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. It is expected to be put into production from the end of this year to early 2025.
BYD's Brazilian branch was established in 2014. In addition to selling zero-emission electric forklifts, trucks, trucks and passenger cars in the Brazilian market, it is also responsible for two rail projects, located in El Salvador and Sao Paulo.
In July last year, BYD announced an investment of 3 billion reais to build a large-scale production base complex in northeastern Brazil, 50 kilometers away from Salvador, the capital of Bahia state. The complex will include three plants: a production plant mainly for the production of electric buses and truck chassis, a complete vehicle production plant for new energy passenger vehicles, and a plant specialized in the processing of lithium iron phosphate battery materials.
BYD has paid 287.8 million reais (approximately US$58 million) to the Bahia state government to purchase a factory with a total area of 4.6 million square meters, part of which is the former Ford's Brazilian factory. BYD said it will rezone the area and rebuild the factory. The old facilities in the factory will be used by suppliers to produce auto parts. BYD plans to build 26 new facilities such as production warehouses and test tracks in the first phase of the project, covering a total area of about 1 million square meters. The plant will be BYD's first outside Asia.
Li Ke, BYD's global vice president and president of the Americas, said in an interview that electrification is taking place in Latin America, and in terms of sales, Brazil is performing very well. New plants in Brazil and Mexico will supply Latin America. The Mexican plant's initial production capacity is also 150,000 vehicles per year and will focus on the production of sedans. She said the company is still discussing the location of the Mexican plant and a final decision is expected before the end of the year.