The BYD automotive plant in the Jizzakh region is set to open in June this year, as announced by the Ministry of Investments, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan. In late January, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and BYD President Wang Chuanfu launched a project to assemble electric and hybrid vehicles in the Jizzakh region with a capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year. The plant will be located in the Jizzakh free economic zone.
BYD representative Ivan Tsao stated that work is underway to install and set up the production line. Mass delivery of vehicles produced from local energy sources is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.
Initially, the plant's production capacity is aimed at 50,000 vehicles, with plans to manufacture three vehicle models. The joint plant will produce BYD Chazor and BYD Song Plus Dm-1 models through semi-knocked-down assembly (CKD). The localization level will gradually increase with the growing number of electric vehicles produced.
Uzavtosanoat and BYD Auto agreed to establish a full-cycle car production in Uzbekistan in August 2022. The joint venture BYD Uzbekistan Factory was founded on December 29, 2022, with Uzavtosanoat holding a 60% stake and BYD Europe B. V. (Netherlands) holding 40%. The agreement for the project implementation was signed between the Uzbekistan government and the investor on September 26, 2023, with the BYD brand officially introduced in Uzbekistan since the beginning of 2023.
BYD requested the Uzbekistan government to restrict the "unregulated" import of electric and hybrid vehicles due to lack of adaptation to local climate and road conditions, as well as the absence of official warranties. The President instructed relevant ministries to propose solutions to regulate the import of BYD electric and hybrid vehicles by July 1, based on existing legislation and international trade principles.
In 2023, Uzbekistan imported 8,948 BYD vehicles worth $291 million.
