Chinese automaker BYD plans to expand into electric vehicles manufacturing and assembly in Vietnam, according to a Vietnamese government statement.
BYD’s founder and chair Wang Chuanfu and Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha met on May 5. Wang Chuanfu said he expected Vietnam to create favourable conditions for BYD to complete investment procedures.
A government statement did not mention how much investment BYD would top up for the expansion into electric vehicles manufacturing and assembly in Vietnam.
BYD, which currently runs a factory to assemble electronic devices and parts in the northern Vietnamese province of Phu Tho, also proposed forming a local supply chain.
The presence of BYD would pose a direct challenge to VinFast, a Vietnamese EV maker that began selling cars in 2019 and plans to expand in the United States and Europe.
Last September, BYD, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, announced that it would build an EV assembly plant in Thailand with annual capacity of 150,000 cars from 2024.