BYD Co., the world’s largest maker of electrified vehicles (EVs), plans to invest US$1.2 billion to build a new factory for its batteries in China, according to environmental appraisal filings.
FinDreams Technology, the Shenzhen-based firm’s battery unit, is aiming to build a facility with the capacity to produce 40 gigawatt hours per year of its blade battery in the city of Zhengzhou in Henan Province, according to environmental filings published on the Zhengzhou government website seeking public feedback on the project.
A company spokesperson could not immediately comment on the matter when contacted yesterday.
BYD’s blade battery is a less bulky lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery that its chairman Wang Chuanfu has said is safer than other alternatives in the market and will not catch fire.
It has been powering BYD’s best-selling battery electric cars such as the Han and Seal sedans that compete with Tesla’s Model 3 in China.
The South China Morning Post earlier reported BYD’s Zhengzhou battery plant.
BYD overtook Tesla Inc. to become the world’s top selling EV maker with 1.87 million deliveries in 2022 compared with 1.3 million for Tesla.
The vast majority of BYD’s cars were sold in China, with international sales estimated to account for less than 2% of the firm’s total sales.
Analysts said there is still plenty of runway left for growth in BYD’s home market, as EV sales in China, the world’s biggest EV market accounting for about two-thirds of the world’s EV sales, rose a scorching 93.4% year on year to 6.89 million vehicles last year.
BYD has been extending its sales network in several Latin America countries, and last year signed a land purchase deal to build an EV production plant in Thailand.