BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, has unveiled plans to construct a new factory dedicated to battery production. The $1.2 billion facility, which will be operated by BYD’s battery unit, FinDreams Technology, is set to be built in the central province of Henan.
The factory will have the capacity to produce 40 gigawatt hours of BYD’s Blade Battery annually. The project’s environmental filings were released on Friday by the Zhengzhou government, which is currently seeking feedback from the public. At this time, a spokesperson for the company has declined to comment on the matter.
BYD has developed a new type of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery called the Blade Battery. According to the carmaker’s chairman, Wang Chuanfu, the Blade Battery is safer than other options in the market and is less bulky. It has been used to power BYD’s best-selling battery electric cars such as the Han and Seal sedans, which compete with Tesla’s Model 3 in China.
In 2022, BYD was the world’s biggest seller of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids, selling a total of 1.86 million units, with the vast majority sold in China, well ahead of its top rival Tesla, which sold 1.3 million units overall.
BYD is anticipating a more than fivefold increase in its 2022 net profit compared to the previous year. In addition to this, the company is pursuing rapid global expansion by entering multiple overseas markets, beginning with Norway in 2021 and followed by Australia, Britain, Brazil, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Singapore.
BYD is also planning to establish a distribution network in the United States. The company’s ambition is to surpass Japan’s Toyota and become the world’s leading carmaker by offering lower costs than its competitors and benefiting from the growing popularity of EVs.
