By Pedro Bianco
En esta noticia
Chinese automaker BYD built its largest factory complex outside Asia in Brazil, and the news is no longer just a promise: the plant is producing vehicles. Located in Camaçari, in the state of Bahia, the factory is not only one of China’s biggest industrial bets in Latin America, but in just a few months of operation it has surpassed 100,000 vehicles produced.
China has set up its largest electric car factory outside Asia in this Latin American country
BYD, the world’s largest electric car maker, chose Brazil to build what it describes as its largest industrial plant outside China. The complex, built in Camaçari, Bahia, covers 4.6 million square meters, a vast area that underscores the scale of the project. There the company produces electric and hybrid vehicles for the Brazilian market and, in the future, for the region.
It is already producing vehicles
The factory was inaugurated in 2025 and began assembling cars shortly afterward; by mid-2026, with about nine months in operation, it had already produced 100,000 electrified vehicles. In other words, it has moved beyond the construction phase and become a plant producing at scale. That 100,000-unit milestone is the clearest sign that the operation is up and running and growing.
On the path to full local production
In this first stage, much of the production is based on assembling vehicles that arrive partially from China. The major next step is localization: bringing the stamping, welding and painting processes to Brazil, which were expected to begin operating around August 2026.
Once those lines are fully operational, the plant will reduce its reliance on imported parts and shift to much more local production. The company plans to produce up to eight models in its first full year of operation.
How much was invested and how many jobs it creates
BYD’s investment in Brazil is estimated at about 5.5 billion reais for electric and hybrid vehicles. The plant’s capacity is projected at 150,000 units a year, with the possibility of scaling up to 300,000 in a second phase.
On employment, the operation employs about 5,500 direct workers, the vast majority from Bahia, and with the new phase at full capacity, it is expected to create up to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
This Chinese move is reshaping the electric vehicle map in Latin America
Beyond the numbers, the case marks a new stage: China is no longer just exporting cars to the region, but making them there. Having its largest plant outside Asia producing in Brazil reshapes the electric vehicle map in Latin America and is a concrete example of how global industrial competition reaches everyday life, in this case through the vehicles beginning to appear on the streets.