BYD To Invest USD 1.2B In A New Battery Factory In China

According to environmental appraisal filings, BYD, the world's largest manufacturer of electrified vehicles, plans to invest $1.2 billion in a new battery factory in China.

According to environmental filings published on the Zhengzhou government website on Friday seeking public feedback on the project, FinDreams Technology, the Chinese company's battery unit, plans to build a facility in Zhengzhou, Henan province, with the capacity to produce 40 gigawatt hours per year of its Blade Battery.

When contacted by sources, a company spokesperson could not immediately comment on the matter.

BYD's Blade Battery is a smaller lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery that, according to Chairman Wang Chuanfu, is safer than other market alternatives and will not catch fire.

It has been powering BYD's best-selling battery electric vehicles in China, such as the Han and Seal sedans, which compete with Tesla's Model 3.

BYD's Zhengzhou battery plant was previously reported by the South China Morning Post.

BYD Auto Co., Ltd. is the automotive division of BYD Company, a publicly traded Chinese multinational manufacturer headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. It was established in January 2003, following BYD Company's 2002 acquisition of Qinchuan Automobile Company. Passenger cars, buses, trucks, electric bicycles, forklifts, and rechargeable batteries are all manufactured by the company. The company's current model lineup includes battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and it also produced petrol engine vehicles until March 2022.