Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- BYD Co.’s joint venture in Uzbekistan saw its first batch of mass-produced new energy vehicles roll off production line Thursday, a milestone achieved by the Shenzhen-based green car and power battery maker in its expansion to Central Asia.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, China’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Yu Jun and BYD’s chairman Wang Chuanfu witnessed the official production launch of the BYD Song Plus DM-I Champion Edition in the BYD factory in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region, according to a statement by BYD.

Jizzakh, which is nearly 190 kilometers southwest of the capital Tashkent, is the heart of Uzbekistan’s car industry.

BYD also signed a green transport cooperation initiative with the Uzbekistan government, aiming to jointly promote sustainable mobility, BYD said.

Wang said that the start of production at the BYD Uzbekistan factory will help accelerate the green transformation of the country’s transport system.

In the future, BYD will continue to promote the development of new energy vehicles in the Central Asian region with innovative technologies, Wang said.

BYD teamed up with Uzavtosanoat JSC, also known as UzAuto, to set up a joint venture in December 2022 to produce BYD’s best-selling new energy vehicles and components in the Central Asia country.

Founded in 1994, UzAuto is the largest and only manufacturer in Central Asia to offer a full range of vehicles and has a 95% share of the Uzbek car market. The firm is also expanding its exports to neighboring countries and has launched overseas production in Azerbaijan.

According to the agreement between BYD and UzAuto, production at the BYD plant in Jizzakh is scheduled to commence this year, starting with two BYD popular plug-in hybrid models, the champion editions of the Chazor and the Song Plus DM-I models.

The first phase of the factory is expected to have an annual production capacity of 50,000 units to meet the sales demand in the Central Asian market, according to BYD.

With an initial investment of US$160 million, the BYD factory is equipped with robotic systems sourced from China to ensure a highly automated production, according to a local media report.

The factory’s second phase, with an estimated cost of US$300 million, will boost production to 200,000 units annually. The third phase is projected to further expand production by 500,000 units annually, with an investment of US$500 million, the report said.

During his visit to BYD’s headquarters in Shenzhen on 25 January, Mirziyoyev conducted a remote production launch ceremony for the BYD factory in Jizzakh together with Wang and witnessed the first vehicle produced at the facility — a Song Plus DM-i — roll off the assembly line.

BYD began exporting cars to Uzbekistan in March last year and has become the best-selling new energy vehicle brand in the country, the firm said.

BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of new energy vehicles, has adopted a dual-pronged strategy of exporting from China and setting up overseas plants to locally produce for those markets.

Yang Yunfei/Shenzhen Daily