BYD may be setting up its manufacturing plant in India. This proposed facility will be located in Rangareddy district of Telangana, around 60 kilometers from Hyderabad, according to a reports from Business Standard, The Hindu and others. To meet local regulatory requirements, BYD is collaborating with Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) from Hyderabad, with MEIL expected to take a majority stake in the joint venture.
Earlier in 2023, BYD had shown interest to setup manufacturing plant for electric vehicles in India with an investment of over US $1 billion. This proposal was denied by the Government of India. At that time also, it had proposed to partner with Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd in the joint venture for the manufacturing facility.
Though BYD, could not setup its electric vehicle manufacturing plant, but it has maintained its presence in India, mainly in the electric bus segment through a partnership with MEIL’s Olectra Greentech. BYD and MEIL together, also sell passenger electric vehicles in India through imports. Prior to this BYD has been operating its battery manufacturing plant in Chennai which has been operational since 2008. This battery manufacturing plant, has been the assembly plant for its EVs like- e6 eMPV, Atto 3 eSUV, and eMAX 7 MPV being being sold in India and imported in SKD state.
According to information in public domain, BYD’s new plan to set up a manufacturing unit, will see significantly larger investment, around US$ $10 billion, and aims to produce 600,000 vehicles annually by 2032.
Globally, BYD has been aggressively setting up its manufacturing plant-
- Rayong, Thailand: Production facility was inaugurated in July 2024
- Jizzakh, Uzbekistan: This plant is operational and focuses on plug-in hybrid car assembly
- Camaçari, Brazil: Expected to be completed in 2025 for car production
- Szeged, Hungary: Expected to be completed in 2027 for car production
- Manisa, Turkey: Expected to be completed in 2026 for car production
- Karachi, Pakistan: Expected to be completed in 2026 for car production
- Komárom, Hungary: This is R&D and manufacturing plant for electric buses, operational since April 2017
- Szeged, Hungary: Construction began in February 2024
- Manaus, Brazil: Started operations in 2020. This facility is specifically for the production of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
- Camaçari, Brazil: EV manufacturing facility is expected to be operational in 2025
- Lancaster, California, USA: This plant produces electric buses and trucks. T
- Mexico: BYD announced plans in 2023 and confirmed in early 2024 to open a manufacturing plant in Mexico.
- BYD is also considering setting up manufacturing facility in Germany by the end of 2025
One can assume that if the above reports of BYD setting up EV manufacturing plant in India is correct, than the earlier security concerns has been addressed, although there is no official confirmation from the central government yet.
But, personally to me the technology edge, competitive costing and speed of manufacturing which today BYD has, can adversely impact the automotive ecosystem of India.
