BYD plans to have two research centers in Brazil, one in Bahia and one in Rio de Janeiro, the Chinese automaker of electric cars said in a statement on Thursday night (20).
The day before, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), said he was negotiating with BYD, which is building a factory in Camaçari (BA), to “bring all the R&D part to Rio de Janeiro”.
At the time the company did not comment on being questioned by Reuters. But at the end of the day, the company sent a statement by stating that “reaffirms its commitment to the sustainable development of Brazil and, in particular, to the economic revitalization of Camaçari (BA).”
“The company will create an automotive research and innovation center in Bahia to transform the state into a reference technology hub, the Silicon Valley of South America,” the automaker reaffirmed in the statement.
BYD also stated that it also “studies the possibility of establishing another research and development center in innovation for other business fronts in Rio de Janeiro.”
In addition to selling cars in Brazil, the automaker produces electric buses and solar energy components in Campinas (SP) and batteries in Manaus.
Continues after advertising
Still commenting on the possibility of having a research center in Rio de Janeiro, the company, which last year involved complaints about slave labor at the construction site of its factory in Camaçari, said that “the initiative demonstrates the company’s strategic vision to diversify its activities and contribute to technological advancement in different states of the country.”
In the statement, however, BYD did not say when it could make the decision to install the second research center in Brazil or detail what it would be.
