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China’s BYD eyes lithium assets in Brazil in EV raw-material push
- BYD’s new EV factory in Brazil will include a unit to process lithium and iron phosphate, global vice-president Stella Li says
- BYD is investing US$594 million in the South American country to build its first EV plant outside Asia and will include a research and development centre
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BYD is mulling the purchase of lithium mining assets in Brazil as it seeks to lock in raw-material supplies to expand its electric vehicle (EV) production outside Asia.
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The Chinese company’s new EV factory in Brazil will include a unit to process lithium and iron phosphate for the international market and BYD hopes it will be able to finish work in less than two years, according to Stella Li, BYD’s global vice-president.
“We prefer to buy any available and affordable resource, but it needs to be competitive,” Li said at an interview in Sao Paulo. “At the same time, BYD also prefers to own some mining operations in Brazil.”
Latin America has emerged as a hotspot for carmakers seeking to tap metals used in EVs as the industry shifts from fossil fuels.
Stellantis and miner Rio Tinto Group are upping their investments in a giant copper deposit in Argentina, while Ford Motor recently closed an agreement with Chile’s lithium producer SQM.
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