BYD Is Closer to 1 TWh Than Tesla: Capacity Already Surpassed 500 GWh

Bridget McCarthy mapped all the cell plants BYD currently has and concluded it has an amazing installed capacity above 500 GWh. To be more precise, we’re talking about 522 GWh, which is not counting a huge battery factory planned for Europe and some other plants – such as Huangpi, in Wuhan – that still have not disclosed how many cells they will be able to manufacture.

The list provided by the financial analyst at Snow Capital is impressive. Here are the factories announced in 2022 (so far):

Xiangyang, Hubei: 30 GWh
Changchun, Jilin (with FAW): 45 GWh
Taizhou, Zhejiang: 22 GWh
Nanning, Guanxi: 45 GWh
Yancheng, Jiangsu Phase II: 15 GWh

That’s 157 GWh. McCarthy then tweeted about the ones that BYD will start to operate this year until the end of Q3:

Chuzhou, Anhui Phase I: 5 GWh
Wuwei, Anhui Phase II: 15 GWh
Yancheng, Jiangsu Phase I: 15 GWh
Shaoxing, Zhejiang Phase I: 15 GWh
Xi'an, Shaanxi Phase III: 12 GWh
Jinan, Shandong Phase I: 15 GWh
Fuzhou, Jiangxi Phase I: 15 GWh

Here we have 92 GWh more, which will be added to BYD’s current installed capacity to achieve the 522 GWh the Snow Capital analyst disclosed. Tesla planned to make 100 GWh at Giga Nevada but would be delivering around 30 GWh. Most of its cars now need suppliers such as LG Energy Solution and CATL, which provides Tesla with LFP cells.

The EV maker planned to change that with its 4680 cells, which would be produced at Giga Grünheide and Giga Austin. There is no information on the German cell plant after Tesla gave up on subsidies that would help it build it there. Regarding the factory in Texas, we’re still waiting for confirmation that its vehicles really use the new cells. Nothing indicates Terafactories will be more than another unfulfilled promise at this point.

Here are BYD's battery factories mapped, as of today. pic.twitter.com/pBzUPVsZjL

— Bridget McCarthy (@bridgemccarthy_) April 26, 2022