BYD, China’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles (NEVs), is expanding its capabilities by building its own testing facility in Nanning, Guangxi, southern China.
The facility, which is set to become operational in June 2024, will be China’s most comprehensive NEV testing facility and will feature the world’s first anti-seasonal testing capabilities.
The facility’s indoor laboratory will be able to simulate winter conditions and conduct endurance testing of vehicles, as well as testing of chassis systems and high voltage systems, in order to streamline vehicle development processes.
The BYD testing facility project is expected to have a total area of 4 million square meters and will require a total investment of $293 million. It is scheduled to take 2 years to complete.
The facility will include 18 different categories of test roads, including intelligent network-connected roads, handling roads, high-speed ring roads, endurance test roads, and off-road tracks, as well as vehicle and component testing laboratories.
The total length of the test roads will be 90 km, and the high-speed ring road will have a design balance speed of 220 km per hour and a maximum speed of 300 km per hour upon completion of the project.
The testing facility being built by BYD is expected to be able to accommodate the majority of the testing needs for passenger cars and commercial vehicles on the road and will adhere to the testing standards and regulations of various countries, regions, and organizations.
It will be able to meet the standards of China, Europe, and the United States. In December, BYD sold a record-breaking 235,197 new energy vehicles (NEVs), bringing their full-year 2022 NEV sales to 1,863,494 units. The company ceased production and sales of vehicles powered solely by internal combustion engines in March 2022 and now focuses on producing plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles.
In addition to expanding in the Chinese market, BYD also intensified its efforts to enter overseas markets in 2022. In December, the company sold 11,320 NEVs in international markets, bringing the total number of overseas NEV sales since July to 50,021 units.
