Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — BYD is aiming for a significant reduction in car production costs in Uzbekistan by improving logistics and developing local components.

In an interview with Dunyo, Ivan Cao, a board member of the BYD Uzbekistan Factory LLC joint venture and Deputy General Director of BYD Central Asia LLC, highlighted the company’s active efforts in these areas. He mentioned that BYD plans to achieve substantial cost reductions by the end of this year or the first half of next year through increased localization.

Cao emphasized Uzbekistan’s significant potential, noting its large population of over 37 million people, making it the largest country in Central Asia and the second largest in the CIS. He believes this creates unique opportunities for the automotive market, especially considering the youthful population that favors personal vehicles over public transportation and demands high standards for intelligent transport solutions.

Uzbekistan already has a well-developed industrial environment for the automotive sector. The country has invested in its automotive industry for over 30 years, collaborating with partners from South Korea, the United States, and other countries, leading to the creation of a complete supply chain within the industry.

Cao highlighted the importance of effective communication when entering foreign markets and noted that Uzbekistan meets all the requirements for successful project implementation due to the strong engineering and business training of local partners.

However, as a landlocked country, Uzbekistan faces relatively high logistics costs. Nevertheless, Cao stated that BYD and its local partners are making significant efforts to optimize and reduce these expenses.

With the launch of the BYD e2 model in Uzbekistan, a new era in the automotive industry has begun. Uzbekistan now produces not only gasoline vehicles but also electric cars, becoming a leader in this direction in Central Asia and the CIS region. Cao expressed confidence that this step would strengthen Uzbekistan’s position on the global automotive stage and bring significant economic benefits to the country.

At the end of June, the BYD Uzbekistan plant in Jizzakh produced its first mass-produced electric vehicle, the BYD SONG PLUS DM-i CHAMPION.

The plant is beginning mass production of BYD passenger cars with new energy sources for consumers in Uzbekistan, starting with two of the most popular models: the BYD SONG PLUS DM-i CHAMPION (C-segment SUV) and the BYD CHAZOR CHAMPION (sedan). Both vehicles are equipped with innovative BYD Super DM-i technology.

In the first phase, the plant’s production capacity will reach up to 50,000 vehicles per year. The plant’s products will also be exported to Central Asian countries.

The enterprise plans to further expand production. In the second phase of the project, it is planned to invest US$300 million to increase capacity to 200,000 electric vehicles per year. In the third phase, an investment of US$500 million is planned, with production volumes expected to increase to 500,000 electric vehicles per year.

BYD also plans to release other popular models such as the E2, Seagull, and Yuan.