BYD battery plant opens in Brazil
BYD has commenced operations at its third plant in Brazil, which is also the country’s first factory for lithium iron phosphate batteries.
The manufacturing plant at Manaus Industrial Zone in the northern state of Amazonas, is dedicated to the production of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries for electric bus chassis.
With an initial investment of $2.7 million, the 5,000 sq m factory is designed to help develop the electric mobility market in Brazil.
The new plant has a production capacity of up to 18,000 battery modules per year, and it is expected to deliver 1,000 modules by September this year.
“With our investment, we will also be able to partner with companies interested in enhancing the electrification of their equipment,” says Tyler Li, country manager, BYD Brazil. “Our proposal is to popularise and facilitate the electrification of mobility and equipment in the country.”
The factory is highly automated and is currently producing 48 battery modules a day.
São José dos Campos in São Paulo state in the south of the country, will be the first to receive batteries produced in Brazil where BYD will supply 12 articulated buses.
BYD Brazil has 365 employees in the cities of Campinas, São Paulo, Salvador, Manaus, Vitória, Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro.