Latest news with #Camacari
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
China's BYD to start assembling electric cars in Brazil
By Luciana Magalhaes SAO PAULO (Reuters) -China's BYD is poised to start assembling electric vehicles at a new factory in Brazil as early as this month, a top executive said, reducing imports as tariffs start to rise in its largest foreign market. Alexandre Baldy, senior vice president for BYD in Brazil, said the goal is to assemble 50,000 cars this year at the plant in Bahia state from imported kits, adding that he is negotiating a lower tax rate on those vehicles. "We should inaugurate in the coming days," Baldy said in an interview late on Friday, without specifying a date, as final regulatory approvals are still pending. "We've already completed this year's imports, taking advantage of the period before the import tax increase that took effect on July 1." BYD had sent a surge of finished cars into Brazil this year to take advantage of temporarily lower tariffs, shipping some 22,000 from China in the first five months, according to Reuters calculations. That stirred complaints in Brazil's auto industry that BYD was privileging Chinese manufacturing over production from Bahia, where a labor probe and heavy rains have disrupted plans. A state labor secretary said in May that the plant would only be "fully functional" at the end of 2026. However, Baldy said it would begin full production in July 2026, after assembling vehicles from "complete knock down" (CKD) kits for the next 12 months. Once fully operational, he said, the complex in Camacari is likely to generate up to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. Expectations for the operation, on the site of a former Ford plant taken over in 2023, suffered in December when labor inspectors leveled accusations of labor abuses involving Chinese contractors hired to build the complex. Brazilian prosecutors filed a lawsuit in May holding BYD responsible for human trafficking and submitting workers to "slavery-like conditions," after talks on a settlement fell through. "BYD has always sought to respect Brazilian law and human dignity in all operations," Baldy said, adding that the company wanted to reach a resolution. He did not say why efforts to negotiate a settlement had fallen through.


Reuters
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
China's BYD to start assembling electric cars in Brazil
SAO PAULO, July 7 (Reuters) - China's BYD ( opens new tab is poised to start assembling electric vehicles at a new factory in Brazil as early as this month, a top executive said, reducing imports as tariffs start to rise in its largest foreign market. Alexandre Baldy, senior vice president for BYD in Brazil, said the goal is to assemble 50,000 cars this year at the plant in Bahia state from imported kits, adding that he is negotiating a lower tax rate on those vehicles. "We should inaugurate in the coming days," Baldy said in an interview late on Friday, without specifying a date, as final regulatory approvals are still pending. "We've already completed this year's imports, taking advantage of the period before the import tax increase that took effect on July 1." BYD had sent a surge of finished cars into Brazil this year to take advantage of temporarily lower tariffs, shipping some 22,000 from China in the first five months, according to Reuters calculations. That stirred complaints in Brazil's auto industry that BYD was privileging Chinese manufacturing over production from Bahia, where a labor probe and heavy rains have disrupted plans. A state labor secretary said in May that the plant would only be "fully functional" at the end of 2026. However, Baldy said it would begin full production in July 2026, after assembling vehicles from "complete knock down" (CKD) kits for the next 12 months. Once fully operational, he said, the complex in Camacari is likely to generate up to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. Expectations for the operation, on the site of a former Ford plant taken over in 2023, suffered in December when labor inspectors leveled accusations of labor abuses involving Chinese contractors hired to build the complex. Brazilian prosecutors filed a lawsuit in May holding BYD responsible for human trafficking and submitting workers to "slavery-like conditions," after talks on a settlement fell through. "BYD has always sought to respect Brazilian law and human dignity in all operations," Baldy said, adding that the company wanted to reach a resolution. He did not say why efforts to negotiate a settlement had fallen through.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
China's BYD to start assembling electric cars in Brazil
By Luciana Magalhaes SAO PAULO (Reuters) -China's BYD is poised to start assembling electric vehicles at a new factory in Brazil as early as this month, a top executive said, reducing imports as tariffs start to rise in its largest foreign market. Alexandre Baldy, senior vice president for BYD in Brazil, said the goal is to assemble 50,000 cars this year at the plant in Bahia state from imported kits, adding that he is negotiating a lower tax rate on those vehicles. "We should inaugurate in the coming days," Baldy said in an interview late on Friday, without specifying a date, as final regulatory approvals are still pending. "We've already completed this year's imports, taking advantage of the period before the import tax increase that took effect on July 1." BYD had sent a surge of finished cars into Brazil this year to take advantage of temporarily lower tariffs, shipping some 22,000 from China in the first five months, according to Reuters calculations. That stirred complaints in Brazil's auto industry that BYD was privileging Chinese manufacturing over production from Bahia, where a labor probe and heavy rains have disrupted plans. A state labor secretary said in May that the plant would only be "fully functional" at the end of 2026. However, Baldy said it would begin full production in July 2026, after assembling vehicles from "complete knock down" (CKD) kits for the next 12 months. Once fully operational, he said, the complex in Camacari is likely to generate up to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. Expectations for the operation, on the site of a former Ford plant taken over in 2023, suffered in December when labor inspectors leveled accusations of labor abuses involving Chinese contractors hired to build the complex. Brazilian prosecutors filed a lawsuit in May holding BYD responsible for human trafficking and submitting workers to "slavery-like conditions," after talks on a settlement fell through. "BYD has always sought to respect Brazilian law and human dignity in all operations," Baldy said, adding that the company wanted to reach a resolution. He did not say why efforts to negotiate a settlement had fallen through.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
China's BYD to start assembling electric cars in Brazil
By Luciana Magalhaes SAO PAULO (Reuters) -China's BYD is poised to start assembling electric vehicles at a new factory in Brazil as early as this month, a top executive said, reducing imports as tariffs start to rise in its largest foreign market. Alexandre Baldy, senior vice president for BYD in Brazil, said the goal is to assemble 50,000 cars this year at the plant in Bahia state from imported kits, adding that he is negotiating a lower tax rate on those vehicles. "We should inaugurate in the coming days," Baldy said in an interview late on Friday, without specifying a date, as final regulatory approvals are still pending. "We've already completed this year's imports, taking advantage of the period before the import tax increase that took effect on July 1." BYD had sent a surge of finished cars into Brazil this year to take advantage of temporarily lower tariffs, shipping some 22,000 from China in the first five months, according to Reuters calculations. That stirred complaints in Brazil's auto industry that BYD was privileging Chinese manufacturing over production from Bahia, where a labor probe and heavy rains have disrupted plans. A state labor secretary said in May that the plant would only be "fully functional" at the end of 2026. However, Baldy said it would begin full production in July 2026, after assembling vehicles from "complete knock down" (CKD) kits for the next 12 months. Once fully operational, he said, the complex in Camacari is likely to generate up to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. Expectations for the operation, on the site of a former Ford plant taken over in 2023, suffered in December when labor inspectors leveled accusations of labor abuses involving Chinese contractors hired to build the complex. Brazilian prosecutors filed a lawsuit in May holding BYD responsible for human trafficking and submitting workers to "slavery-like conditions," after talks on a settlement fell through. "BYD has always sought to respect Brazilian law and human dignity in all operations," Baldy said, adding that the company wanted to reach a resolution. He did not say why efforts to negotiate a settlement had fallen through. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

News.com.au
30-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Brazil sues China's BYD over 'slavery' conditions on build site
Brazilian prosecutors are suing Chinese electric car giant BYD and two contracting companies for human trafficking and alleged slave labor conditions at a build site, according to legal documents seen by AFP Thursday. The case concerns 220 Chinese workers found last December in conditions "analogous to slavery" at a BYD plant under construction in Camacari, in the northeastern state of Bahia. Bahia's regional ministry for works (MPT) said in December it had found "degrading working conditions" at the site being built, expected to be BYD's largest electric car plant outside Asia. Workers slept without mattresses and, in one case, 31 people had to share a bathroom, it said. Laborers had "visible signs of skin damage" from working long hours under the sun. The MPT said it also suspected "forced labor," with illegal clauses in workers' contracts, passports confiscated and the employer withholding as much as 70 percent of their salary. Workers were monitored by armed guards. After the allegations were made public, BYD's Brazilian subsidiary said it had broken its contract with the Jinjiang contractor responsible for work on the site. Jinjiang denied the slavery allegation. The MPT is now seeking 257 million reais ($45.3 million) for "collective moral damages," as well as individual payments for each worker. The civil suit against BYD, Jinjiang and Tonghe Intelligent Equipment (now Tecmonta) was filed after the companies refused to sign a "conduct adjustment agreement" proposed by Brazilian authorities, the MPT said. On Thursday, BYD said in a statement it had collaborated with the MPT from the beginning, and "reaffirms its non-negotiable commitment to human and labor rights, guiding its activities by respecting Brazilian legislation and international labor protection standards." Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters Beijing "places great importance on protecting and safeguarding workers' legitimate rights and interests," and requires Chinese companies to "operate in compliance with laws and regulations."