Chinese electric car maker BYD’s new factory in Brazil will be “fully functional” by December 2026, after its operations were delayed because of an investigation into labour abuses, Bahia state labour secretary Augusto Vasconcelos said in a video on Monday.
By the end of this year, the factory should start producing cars from semi-finished kits, he added.
“A new schedule is being established so that by December 2026 the factory will be fully functional with the expectation of generating 10,000 jobs,” said Vasconcelos in the video published to social media.
Operations will begin with the assembly of vehicles in 2025, as the factory ramps up with “progressive nationalisation of the bestselling models in Brazil”, said BYD in a statement.
With 76,713 vehicles sold in Brazil throughout the year, the company registered a growth of around 328 per cent compared with the 17,937 sold in 2023, according to a January press release.
