Tesla’s biggest EV rival is planning a factory in North America
Enlarge / BYD does most of its manufacturing in China, but that is rapidly changing. (credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Chinese automaker BYD-which stands for Build Your Dreams-is on something of a roll. Last year, it sold more than 3 million cars, including 1.4 million hybrids and another 1.6 million battery-electric vehicles. It even sold more BEVs in China than Tesla in the final three months of 2023, helped by the fact that its larger portfolio of vehicles includes smaller and cheaper vehicles. Now, BYD is considering opening a plant in Mexico, according to Nikkei Asia.
Although most of BYD's sales are in China, the automaker has more global ambitions. Factories are in various stages of planning or construction in Thailand, Hungary, and Brazil, and now, BYD is studying the feasibility of a factory in Mexico, potentially in Nuevo Leon, or perhaps the Baijo region in the middle of the country.
Mexico isn't a bad place to put a new car factory. The sector employs more than a million people, so there's a skilled workforce in place already, and the country produces 3.7 million cars per year. Indeed, BMW, Kia, and Stellantis have all said they will make EVs in Mexico, and Tesla has indicated it could do the same.