12 déc 17
Fil d'Actus

BYD to open plant in Morocco

Chinese carmaker BYD has signed an agreement to open a factory in Morocco where it is to build battery-powered cars, buses, trucks and batteries. The factory is planned to start production in 2018 in Mohamed VI Tangier Tech City, the co-called North African Silicon Valley. It is to employ around 2,500 people.

Renault already operates two factories in the North African country and PSA is slated to open its own plant in 2019.

BYD expansion worldwide

BYD, an acronym for Build Your Dreams, has been expanding its global presence for some years. The company opened its first electric bus plant in Europe in April in the Hungarian town of Komarom. BYD invested 20 million euros to build 400 battery-driven buses each year that will be sold across Europe.

The carmaker is opening another electric bus factory in France in the first half of 2018. BYD invested 10 million euros to build 200 buses annually.

The company also entered a partnership with Alexander Dennis Ltd to build electric buses for operation in Liverpool and London.

Across the Atlantic, BYD opened an electric bus assembly plant in California. It is planning another factory in Ontaria, Canada, where it will manufacture short-range vehicles such as garbage trucks and delivery vehicles.

In spite of this expansion, BYD's ambition, announced five years ago, to sell passenger cars in Europe has yet to materialise.

On its home market, BYD and Daimler are working on expanding their partnership in anticipation of the Chinese ban on fossil-fuel powered vehicles.

Photo: Konrad Krajewski/Shutterstock.com, BYD electric bus during tests in Krakow.

Authored by: Benjamin Uyttebroeck