Electric vehicle maker BYD plans $1.2 billion battery plant in China

Chinese company BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, plans to invest USD 1.2 billion (CZK 26.6 billion) in China to build a new battery plant for electric vehicles. Reuters reported this today, citing environmental impact assessment documents. The plant in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou is set to have a capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours.

FinDreams Technology, BYD’s battery division, plans to make smaller lithium iron phosphate batteries at the plant. According to the company’s chairman, Wang Chuanfu, they are safer than other alternatives on the market and do not pose a risk of catching fire. BYD uses them in its best-selling electric vehicles, the Han and Seal sedans, which compete with Tesla’s Model 3 cars in China.

According to an analysis by SNE Research, BYD ranked second in the market last year for electric vehicle battery installations, alongside South Korea’s LG Energy Solution. Their combined market share was 13.6 percent, with total installations of 70.4 GWh. BYD’s installations rose 167.1 percent year on year. China’s CATL was the leader, with a 37 percent market share.