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China’s Biggest Electric Car Maker BYD Is Now World’s Biggest Face Mask Maker

China is the world’s biggest face mask producer but it can’t keep up with increased demand for the product amid the Coronavirus pandemic. The same goes for hand sanitizer and protective clothing for medical personnel.
BYD President Wang Chuanfu supervises face mask production at BYD new line 25 photos
Photo: BYD for chinadaily.com.cn
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As the spread of COVID-19, the new Coronavirus that seems to have originated in Wuhan, China, is currently prompting state of emergency declarations in several European countries and the U.S., several major companies in China are reconfiguring their business to meet the boom in demand for medical-grade equipment. Carmakers included.

BYD Co, China’s largest electric car maker (through its division BYD Auto) and a top company making anything from EV batteries to e-bikes, cellphones, buses and forklifts, to trucks and semiconductors, is now focusing on making protection equipment. In fact, efforts in this direction have proven so successful that it now claims the title of world’s biggest face mask maker.

The accomplishment was touted in a press release from last week (which you can see in full below), but Bloomberg seems to hint taking it with a grain of salt since the company isn’t offering details on what type of face masks they’re making or include numbers from direct competitors. Still, it’s an achievement that speaks to China’s status as manufacturing powerhouse.

BYD President Wang Chuanfu led a team of 3,000 engineers that saw them build production lines using in-house components, out of the line in the Longgang district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, previously used to make high-end cellphones. In less than 3 months, they recorded impressive progress, meeting the high standards needed for making medical-grade equipment and being able to make the much needed products in a considerably shorter time.

Currently, BYD is making 5 million masks and 300,000 bottles of hand disinfectant a day, which are then shipped all across China to meet the shortage supply. It’s also making five to ten new mask-producing machines every single day.
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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