BYD Actively Responds to COVID-19-Related Disruption to Xi’an Production Base

The COVID-19 pandemic has recently affected a production base of automaker BYD in China’s northwestern city of Xi’an. On Friday, BYD responded: “The Xi’an Production Base is subject to the pandemic, yet we have taken active measures in response.”

The website of the Shaanxi Provincial Health Commission shows that from 0:00 to 24:00 on December 23, 52 new locally confirmed cases were reported in the province. Since December 9, Shaanxi Province has witnessed 264 locally confirmed cases (255 in Xi’an, five in Yan’an and four in Xianyang). Xi’an officials announced moves to comprehensively strengthen control measures from December 23, implementing closed-off management for communities and institutions, to effectively prevent the virus from spreading.

The Xi’an facility is one of BYD’s most important production bases, as it manufactures several popular models such as the Qin PLUS DM-i hybrid and the Song PLUS DM-i hybrid.

According to the website of the Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government, the planned annual production capacity of BYD Production Base Phase I and Phase II is 300,000 vehicles. That is to say, BYD has an annual production capacity of 600,000 vehicles in Xi’an alone.

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In November, Wang Changfu, chairman of BYD Group, said BYD DM-i models were in short supply. Back then, BYD received an order as high as 200,000 vehicles, and it took four months to deliver the DM-i models to consumers. It is widely believed that the Xi’an epidemic may delay the delivery of BYD’s popular models again.

According to data released by the China Passenger Car Association, BYD sold 90,142 new energy vehicles in November 2021, ranking first among NEV manufacturers. From January to November this year, BYD sold 641,000 vehicles, of which 509,800 were NEVs, up 216.97% year-on-year.