China’s BYD is to build a plant for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries and electric buses in Brazil.
The site of BYD’s first South American production facility will be Campinsas in São Paulo state. The factory is slated to open in 2015, will create 450 new jobs, the company said in a statement.
The Chinese firm said the facility would help it launch the manufacturing and assembly of the world’s only long range pure electric transit bus in South America, as well as lithium iron phosphate battery packs.
“In the first year of operation, starting in 2015, the plant will have a maximum production capacity of 1,000 electric buses as well as all of their batteries,” said BYD Brazil’s General Manager Tyler Li. “This is the first stage of manufacturing expansion.”
In addition to the 32,000 square metres and 20,000 square metres manufacturing facilities on campus, BYD also plans to open a research & development center for its photovoltaic, smart grid and LED lighting businesses in the second phase of site development.
“BYD chose Campinas because of this city’s spirit of innovation and their goal of building a cleaner society,” explained BYD Founder and Chairman, Wang Chuanfu. “Along with the buses and batteries, our dream is to buildsolar panels and energy storage systems here to help the region achieve their zero emissions goals.”
