HANOI - The Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has slowed down its plans to build an EV factory in Vietnam, according to the manager of the industrial park where the plant would be built.
The Vietnamese government said in May that the world’s largest seller of EVs had decided to build a factory to manufacture and assemble cars in the northern province of Phu Tho, where the company already has a plant that produces tablets for Apple.
“Due to its strategy and the slowdown of the electric vehicle market, BYD slowed down (plans) to start construction,” said Luong Thanh Tung, vice-chairman of Gelex Group, the company that runs the industrial park where BYD would build the new factory.
Speaking at a shareholders’ meeting in Hanoi, Tung said that after lengthy negotiations with BYD, Gelex had reserved 100 hectares of commercial land at the Phu Ha industrial park].
But after delays, the two sides were now seeking a suitable time to start the project, he told the meeting.
In a later statement to Reuters, Gelex said BYD had not made any formal announcement about the possible factory.
BYD headquarters in China did not respond to a request for comment about Thursday’s statements from Gelex.
Growth in the global EV market is expected to slow this year because of a fall in state subsidies.
The Vietnamese government’s announcement about BYD’s investment plans followed a visit to the country by BYD chief executive Wang Chuanfu in May. The statement did not indicate a starting date or the size of the investment for the project.
At a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha in May, Wang said he hoped for “favourable conditions to complete investment procedures”, according to the Vietnamese government.
BYD is building an EV factory in Rayong province in Thailand and also plans to build EV facilities in Indonesia.
Last year the company sold over 3 million electric vehicles, including battery EVs and plug-in hybrids, passing Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of EVs.