BYD Reaches 100,000 EVs Produced in Brazil

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BYD’s sales progress outside of China has been one of the top EV stories of the year. It is selling EVs in many countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America now. However, outside of Asia, no BYD production facility is bigger than it’s Brazilian one.

BYD recently reached a couple of milestones in the home of Samba, Capoeira, Bossa Nova, and Joga Bonito. The company has already produced more than 100,000 vehicles there, and it now directly employs 5,500 Brazilians.

The company has reached those milestones after just 9 months of operations in Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil.

“These achievements reflect the remarkable pace of an operation designed to position Bahia as one of the world’s leading hubs for the next generation of automotive manufacturing. More importantly, they represent a story that extends well beyond the production line—a story of thousands of Brazilian professionals who have found new career opportunities and are helping shape the future of sustainable mobility in the country,” BYD writes.

“The BYD Dolphin Mini, Brazil’s best-selling battery electric vehicle in the retail market for five consecutive months, became the 100,000th vehicle to roll off the production line at the Camaçari factory. More than 35,000 Dolphin Mini units have been sold in Brazil so far this year.”

In addition to the Dolphin Mini, the BYD King and BYD Song Pro are produced in Brazil.

“The factory’s rapid growth is also reflected in the expansion of its workforce. BYD reached its first 1,000 direct employees just 60 days after operations began. Six months later, that figure had tripled to 3,000 employees. Today, only 250 days after the plant’s official inauguration, the complex employs 5,500 people.

“Currently, 86% of the workforce comes from the state of Bahia, while 52% are residents of Camaçari, highlighting the company’s commitment to local employment and talent development.”

The company also told the story of the 5,500th employee a bit and had him talk about his appreciation for the job. Clearly, the company is trying to make up for an early employee scandal in the country, shift the narrative, and warm to more Brazilians. They are probably going about it exactly the right way.

“I was unemployed and going through a very uncertain period, just like many other people in Camaçari,” said Ednei. “For a long time, the local industrial sector had lost momentum, and many people no longer believed that new opportunities would emerge here. BYD has changed that reality, bringing back hope—the hope of finding a job, growing professionally, and planning for the future,” Ednei dos Santos Silva, who is now a production operator in the welding shop, said.

“Being the factory’s 5,500th employee makes this achievement even more meaningful to me. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life, allowing me to support my wife and children, develop my career, and build my future in the city where I live. It’s inspiring to see Camaçari dreaming again.”

You’d have to be heartless to not appreciate that, no matter what the motive of highlighting him is.

“When we celebrate the production of 100,000 vehicles, we are also celebrating the thousands of people who made this achievement possible,” added Alexandre Baldy, Senior Vice President of BYD Brazil and Head of Marketing and Commercial at BYD Auto. “Every vehicle that rolls off the production line in Camaçari reflects the hard work, talent, and dedication of a team that has believed in this project from day one.”

“Bahia welcomed BYD with open arms and has become the industrial heart of our operations in Brazil. At the same time, none of this would have been possible without the more than 300,000 Brazilians who chose to experience BYD’s technology and welcomed our vehicles into their homes and onto the country’s roads,” he added.