BYD to invest in three projects in Xi'an

BYD, a world-leading Chinese company for manufacturing of rechargeable batteries and new energy vehicles, decided to put three projects in Xi'an Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province.

The strategic cooperation agreement for high-end smart terminal manufacturing project, new energy bus production project and straddle-type monorail production project was signed on Thursday by Xi'an municipal government, Xi'an Hi-tech Industrial and Development Zone and BYD Co Ltd which is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province in Southeast China.

According to the agreement, BYD will invest totally 5 billion yuan ($728 million), of which 1 billion yuan goes to the high-end smart terminal manufacturing project, 2 billion yuan to the new energy bus production project and 2 billion yuan for the straddle-type monorail production project.

Wang Chuanfu, chairman and chief executive of BYD Co Ltd, said that the annual production capacity of the high-end smart terminal manufacturing project is designed to be 50 million sets, and the industrial output value is expected to be 25 billion yuan annually.

"We will produce 5000 pure electric bus annually with output value of 8 billion yuan after the new energy bus production project is completed. And the straddle-type monorail production project is expected to achieve 10 billion yuan of annual output value after it is put into operation," BYD chairman said.

Shangguan Jiqing, mayor of Xi'an city, said that BYD's new projects constructed in Xi'an were all high-tech manufacturing ones with high technical content and good market prospects, which would play an important supporting role for Xi'an's industrial transformation and upgrading, and to further accelerate local economic and high technological development.