BYD opened a new electric vehicle (EV) battery production plant this week in China's western province of Qinghai, which the company describes as region rich in lithium deposits.
The plant's full production capacity of 24 gigawatt-hours (GWH) is expected to be achieved in 2019, in what local analysts see as a major boost to the Chinese government's policy of rapidly expanding sales of new-energy vehicles in the country.
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Most of the plant's output will be for BYD's own range of passenger and commercial vehicles but the company also plans to position itself also as a supplier of batteries to other automakers.
The new plant adds to BYD's current capacity of 16 Gwhs of annual battery production capacity in China, split between two plants in Shenzhen and Huizhou.
It also brings the company a step closer to completing a CNY25bn (US$3.8bn) investment plan to bring 60 Gwhs of EV battery production capacity on line by 2020.
BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu said the new plant makes significant use of information technology and automated systems, including 100 robots involved in production and logistics operations.
He is increasingly optimistic about the global growth prospects for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles with more and more governments around the world putting a timeline on their plans to restrict sales of conventional combustion engine vehicles.
