BYD has rolled out its 100,000th new-energy vehicle from its Brazilian assembly line, underscoring the
growth potential for Chinese products
in South America, just as electric cars fuel fresh tension in Europe.
China’s largest electric vehicle (EV) producer reached the landmark on July 16, reflecting
’s rapid expansion as governments increasingly push for local manufacturing and job creation.
The milestone vehicle was a BYD Seagull, which came off the line at the Camacari plant, which has more than 5,500 workers in the northeastern state of Bahia.
“We have already received orders for 50,000 cars from Argentina and 50,000 cars from Mexico, which will be exported from the Camacari factory,” said Stella Li, BYD’s head for the Americas, in a report by Reuters last week.
The Camacari complex, which took 15 months to build, marked an investment of about 5.5 billion reals (US$1 billion) and spanned 4.68 million square metres, according to publicly available information. Its first phase targeted annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, with a longer-term goal of up to 600,000 units.