Vietnamese automaker Kim Long Auto said on Tuesday it will cooperate with China's BYD to build a US$130 million commercial electric vehicle battery factory in central Vietnam. Kim Long Automobile said in a statement that according to the agreement, the factory construction funds will be borne by Kim Long Automobile, and BYD will provide comprehensive technical support.
Kim Long Automobile pointed out in a statement that the plant covers an area of 4.4 hectares and will have an annual production capacity of 3 gigawatt hours.
The company said the plant expected to start operations soon, but did not announce a specific timetable.
In the second phase of the project, the factory area will be expanded to 10 hectares, the annual production capacity will be doubled to 6 GWh, and a new passenger electric vehicle battery production line will be added.
The plant will produce batteries for buses, trucks, minibuses and other commercial vehicles.
Vietnam's electric vehicle market is expanding rapidly, with local car company VinFast, a Vietnamese automaker, dominating the industry.
VinFast recently launched the electric freight van EC Van, officially entering the commercial vehicle field. This model is specially designed to support sustainable urban freight.
