BYD Uzbekistan Factory joint venture in Jizzakh province produced its first electric vehicle. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited this plant today.
This is a new stage in the Uzbek automotive industry, a huge historical event. The plant began its operations in January of this year during the visit of the head of our state to China. This is the first phase of a $160 million project that is designed to manufacture 50,000 electric vehicles per year.
The joint venture was provided with modern industrial infrastructure. Almost 2 kilometers of railway tracks have been laid. Components warehouse and a logistics center for 1.2 thousand containers were erected to ensure continuity of production.
The plant has modern equipment and robotic systems from China with automated production process. A laboratory has been created for high-precision testing of the geometric dimensions of electric vehicles.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev toured the plant premises and talked with Chinese partners.
The Chazor and Song Plus Champion models have been launched here. Shavkat Mirziyoyev left his signature on the first electric car that rolled off the assembly line.
Here, the head of state was presented with information about plans to localize production.
In the coming years, it is planned to expand the plant's model range. As part of the phase II of the project, worth $300 million, it is planned to increase production to 200 thousand electric vehicles per year, and within the third stage, worth $500 million, up to 500 thousand electric vehicles.
To be competitive in this new industry, innovation and highly skilled people are needed. In this regard, the need to create an R&D center for training and development of personnel, support for scientific and engineering research was emphasized. Measures to reduce production costs through localization projects were discussed. The goal for the future is to enter the regional markets.
Today the company employs 1.2 thousand people. Last year, 200 employees were trained at UzAuto Motors factories. This year, another 92 specialists will undergo training in the Chinese cities of Xi'an and Changsha in the areas of quality control, technology, supply and equipment maintenance. When all three stages are implemented, the number of jobs will reach 10 thousand.
