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BYD plans to invest $1.3 billion in an electric vehicle factory in Indonesia after the Chinese automaker announced three new battery models for sale, aiming to become Indonesia’s largest EV brand.
The site is the sixth car plant planned outside China, joining Brazil, Hungary, Mexico, Thailand and Uzbekistan, as the Warren Buffett-backed group expands its manufacturing footprint closer to overseas markets. becomes.
BYD, which overtook Tesla in EV sales last quarter, is also seeking a factory location in Mexico that could serve the U.S. market despite rising trade barriers.
At an event held in East Jakarta to unveil three new models, the Indonesian government’s Economic Coordination Minister Airlangga Hartarto announced that the automaker will spend $1.3 billion to build a factory with a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. He said he would invest.
BYD’s head of Indonesia, Eagle Zhao, did not comment on the figure, but said the group would start construction on the facility this year.
“As part of our long-term efforts, we envision building an EV ecosystem and promoting development in Indonesia,” he added.
BYD hopes to overtake last year’s best-selling models in the Indonesian market, including Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and China’s Wuling Automobile’s Air EV.
Jakarta is trying to persuade global automakers to set up manufacturing plants in the country, with the aim of leveraging its vast nickel reserves to build an EV ecosystem.
The Southeast Asian country has the world’s largest reserves of nickel, which is essential for electric vehicle batteries. President Joko Widodo banned nickel ore exports in 2020 in a bid to attract metal fabricators, battery makers and car makers to invest in Indonesia.
After the export ban, billions of dollars flowed into Indonesia’s nickel industry, especially from Chinese mining groups.
BYD, the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer, is actively expanding overseas amid rising protectionism against Chinese-made products in Western countries.
China overtook Japan last year to become the world’s largest car exporter. BYD is among Chinese EV and battery makers looking to build factories and gain access to mineral deposits closer to overseas consumers.
Of the 243,000 BYD cars exported to more than 50 countries last year, about half were sold in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Europe, South America and Africa, according to Citigroup.
In the long term, the company aims to increase its sales volume overseas from 2 million to 3 million units, excluding the US and European markets. BYD’s first EV cargo ship set sail from China for Europe this week, and the company has plans to build six more ships.