China’s BYD weighs building electric-vehicle assembly plant in Vietnam

The three countries are competing to host an electric-vehicle assembly plant for the Chinese maker of EVs, Bloomberg News cited information from a top official of Philippine trade and investment.

The Chinese auto giant is in an “advanced stage of discussions” with the Philippines, the Southeast Asian nation’s Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said in an interview with Bloomberg News reporter on Wednesday.

BYD representatives scoured the Philippines for possible factory sites during a visit late last year and the company may decide on the site during the second quarter, he added.

BYD, which is already set to build its first EV production facility in Southeast Asia in Thailand, is still exploring whether the new factory will be a full-blown assembly plant or a final-assembly facility with car parts shipped in from overseas. 

However, a spokesperson for Shenzhen-based BYD, said the company doesn’t have “any relevant information to disclose.”

Talks between BYD and Indonesia over a potential investment in an EV factory in the country are ongoing, Bloomberg cited a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named as the discussions are private.

Southeast Asian nations are racing to attract investments in EVs as global carmakers pivot away from the combustion engine, a transition that China has been dominating.

Chinese battery-making giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, is also in talks with Philippine government officials to invest in a plant to process nickel for electric-car batteries, along with its subsidiary Brunp, said Rodolfo, 52, who’s been with the government’s trade and investment agencies for a decade.

Source: Bloomberg