BYD’s Megafactory Surge Threatens Tesla’s EV Crown – Here’s How the Dragon Outpaces the Bull

China's BYD just dropped the hammer on Tesla with a megafactory expansion that could flip the EV production race on its head. Forget 'catching up'—this is a full-scale blitzkrieg on Elon's turf.

The battery-to-brakes behemoth is leveraging:

- Vertical integration that makes Tesla look like a parts assembler

- Chinese supply chains laughing at 'geopolitical risks'

- Subsidies so juicy they'd make a Silicon Valley founder blush

Wall Street's still placing bets on Musk's hype cycles while BYD quietly installs production lines faster than crypto miners plug in ASICs. The irony? Tesla's stock still trades like a tech moonshot while BYD builds actual cars by the millions. Sometimes the market gets the narrative right—just 5 years too late.

BYD gears up for more expansion in Zhengzhou

The EV giant recently disclosed that it received the government’s conditional environmental approval for several construction projects. According to the company’s planning documents, the new construction projects include the expansion of BYD’s battery production line. The project is under BYD’s mold production line subsidiary,  Zhengzhou Fudi Battery Co.

The EV maker’s planning documents also show that it is preparing to construct a new battery protection plate production line at an estimated cost of $16 million. The new facility is expected to churn out nearly 4.7 million battery protection plates per year.

An analysis of BYD’s satellite imagery suggests that the entire megafactory spans approximately 22.5 square kilometres, compared to Tesla’s 3.53 square kilometres in Austin. The EV maker eventually plans to expand  Zhengzhou’s production capacity to 1.8 million vehicles every year. Local media claims this is more than the vehicles Tesla produced across all its factories in 2024.

BYD opens mega factory in Brazil   

The EV automaker opened another mega factory in Brazil in mid-October. Distinguished guests, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attended the inauguration of the mega factory in Camacari, Bahia state. The mega factory was built at a cost of approximately $980 million and is the largest BYD factory outside of China.

The Camacari plant is built on a former Ford site and is expected to begin production with an annual capacity of at least 150,000 units. The production capacity is expected to increase to 300,000 units per year in the second phase, and up to 600,000 at full capacity.

“This factory represents the recovery of the dignity of the people of Camacari and the people of Bahia. This is sovereignty and dignity.”

–Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil 

The Brazilian president also said that what came after Ford’s exit will be much better. He added that the Chinese project will also foster technological transformation in the country. 

Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s CEO, stated that Brazil has advantages as a production site due to its abundant and unique clean energy resources. The executive also pointed out that Brazil has a diverse and open society that readily adopts new technologies. 

Tyler Li, BYD’s Brazil President, also claimed that the EV maker will capitalize on Brazil’s natural advantages. He added that his company has innovated batteries that combine safety, low environmental impact, and durability. Li disclosed that the company is also exploring the development of solar power generation projects. 

Angelo Almeida, Bahia’s Secretary of Economic Development, said the arrival of BYD represents the rebirth of Camacari’s automotive hub. He pointed out that the Brazil mega factory started production with semi-assembled units and will advance to full production in the second half of 2026.

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