Chinese BYD company to open auto assembly plant in Bulgaria

BYD
December 11, 2012

BREZNIK,Bulgaria, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese BYD Company, a worldwide leadermanufacturing electric cars, buses, batteries and LED lighting, and theBulgarian energy giant Bulmineral signed a joint-venture agreement here onTuesday to build an auto assembly plant.

Theplant of the 50:50 joint-venture company called Auto Group Motors will belocated in the small town of Breznik, some 50 km west of the Bulgarian capitalSofia.

Itwill produce electric cars and electric buses, Alexander Usachev, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Bulmineral told at the ceremony attended by Valentin Bojkov, ExecutiveDirector of Bulgaria's Road Transport Agency and Li Hong, First Secretary ofthe Chinese embassy in Sofia.

Thefirst sample bus is expected to be rolled out in February 2013 and when theplant is operational at full capacity, it will produce 40 to 60 buses a month,Usachev said.

Itscar assembling capacity will be clear in three months, Usachev added.

Accordingto him, the production will be expanded further by making the entire productrange of BYD such as batteries and LED lights.

HoIsbrand, General Manager of the Auto Export Trade Division at BYD Auto Co.,Ltd., said this is a very important step for BYD.

"Weare looking forward to having our partner here helping us to develop thebusiness in Europe," he said.

Productionof this size would solve the unemployment problem in Breznik, the town's mayorVasil Uzunov said, while Borislav Stefanov, Executive Director of theInvestBulgaria Agency, said he was extremely happy that economic relationsbetween Bulgaria and China continue to grow, and that Bulgaria is aninteresting partner for China.

Itis the second large Chinese automotive project in Bulgaria. This February,Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motors opened an auto assembly plant near the townof Lovech in northern Bulgaria, its first joint venture in Europe, togetherwith its Bulgarian partner Litex Motors.

Afterits final completion around 2015, the plant, some 150 km east of Sofia, isexpected to make 50,000 vehicles annually.

About BYD

BYD Company Ltd. is one of China’s largest companies, and one of the very few who have successfully expanded globally. Specializing in battery technologies, their green mission to “solve the whole problem” has made them industry pioneers and leaders in sectors including Automobiles, Public Transit, Energy Storage, Photovoltaic and Information Technology manufacturing services.

Already being the world’s largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, their mission to create safer and more environmentally friendly battery technologies has lead to the development of the Iron Phosphate (Fe) Battery. This non-combustible, completely recyclable and incredibly long lasting technology has become the core of their clean energy platform that has expanded into automobiles, buses, trucks, utility vehicles and energy storage facilities. BYD and all of their shareholders, including the great American Investor Warren Buffett, see these environmentally and economically forward products as the way of the future.

BYD has made a strong entrance to the North, Central and South American markets with their battery electric bus, and lineup of automobiles. Their mission lies not just in sales growth, but also in sociological integration as they have poured incredible into developing offices, dealerships and manufacturing facilities in the local communities they now call home, truly a first for a Chinese company. For more information, please visit www.byd.com, www.bydeurope.com, www.facebook.com/bydcompany, or pr@byd.com.