China's BYD to establish production of electric wheeled vehicles in Azerbaijan, invest at least $94 mln

BAKU. April 9 (Interfax) - China's BYD Company Ltd plans to construct a plant to manufacture electric buses in Azerbaijan, and it intends to invest $34 million at the initial stage, Azerbaijan's Economy Ministry said.

The plant should launch operations in 2025. It will be built on the territory of the chemical industrial park in Sumgait, with capacity of 500 buses per year. The project should create 800 jobs.

Electrify Azerbaijan LLC will be BYD's local partner in the project, and Azerbaijan Investment Company will be one of the investors, the ministry said.

The ministry also said that BYD Company Ltd plans to localize production of spare parts for the electric buses in Azerbaijan in the third year of the project. The relevant research has begun in this area.

The ministry said that there are plans to organize the production of large-capacity electric freight vehicles and electric vehicles for utilities, as well as the assembly of batteries in Azerbaijan, as part of collaborating with BYD going forward. The company plans to invest about $60 million in these projects in the future.