With the launching of more alternative energy vehicles, BYD begins to expand the battery capacity. News media learned that BYD will invest RMB 11b to increase capitals of the subsidiary two companies, which will be used in the battery capacity expansion project. Battery capacity is expected to be expanded in the future and the research process of alternative energy vehicles will be further accelerated.
The invested capital is mainly used in two projects, “Iron Power Lithium Ion Battery Expansion Project” and “R&D on Alternative Energy Vehicles Project”. In the first project, the company will invest RMB 6b in its wholly owned subsidiary, Shenzhen BYD Battery Co., LTd. In the second project, the company will invest RMB 5b in another wholly owned subsidiary, BYD Automotive Industry Co., LTd.
Currently, BYD owns two battery factories in Shenzhen, the largest of which has a capacity of 1b watts to meet the needs of 25,000 buses and 600,000 PHEV cars. The second factory has an annual capacity of 8m watts for providing LFP battery.
With the input of new capital, BYD is speeding up its R&D process. According to plan, the first alternative energy vehicle MPV named in ancient Chinese Dynasty--”Shang”--will be launched into market in the second half of year.
Besides, Song with dual systems, BEV Song and a new model named M5 (with three versions) will also be launched into market in the second half of year. Apart from the above projects in construction, BYD will also invest a new battery factory in Qinghai province. The new factory will have an annual capacity of 10GWh for providing battery power for more than 600,000 PHEV vehicles. The cooperation in Qinghai also shows that BYD has stepped into the upper industrial chain in alternative energy vehicle area.