The Chinese firm BYD, one of the top electric vehicle manufacturers in the world (#1 in terms of overall plug-in car sales), recently broke ground on the second of three planned expansion/construction phases at its vehicle manufacturing plant in Lancaster, California, according to an email sent to CleanTechnica.
The expansion plans, which will add tens of thousands of additional square feet of manufacturing space, are part of the company’s plans to triple employment at the facility in only 3 years time.
The facility, which CleanTechnica‘s Kyle Field toured in October 2015, is currently home to the company’s local bus and coach manufacturing, and employs around 400 people. The expansion plans are reportedly in response to booming demand for the company’s all-electric buses, coaches, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
“We’re proud to produce efficient, reliable electric trucks and buses in California that help boost the local economy with good paying manufacturing and engineering jobs,” commented BYD America President Stella Li, while speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony. “By standing here today and breaking ground on this Phase II expansion, BYD is demonstrating its long-term commitment to this community to create even more good paying jobs with benefits and career advancement opportunities. The people who work at BYD’s Lancaster plant are assembling buses for transit systems all over the country, and soon we’ll be able to increase production line capacity to deliver these cutting-edge zero emission vehicles even faster to customers.”
The Mayor of Lancaster, Rex Parris, commented as well: “The Antelope Valley offers a skilled workforce that takes pride in the caliber of its work. Through our growing partnership with BYD, the local economy has already realized a significant boost from the addition of much-needed jobs. BYD will soon triple the number of its employees with the expansion of this facility over the next three years. In addition, by utilizing BYD electric buses, the Antelope Valley Transit Authority is doing its part to ensure our region has cleaner air. As always, reaching Zero Net Energy status is at the forefront of our City goals, and BYD is helping us achieve this vision faster.”
Current plans call for the Phase 2 expansion to be complete sometime in 2017. The third phase of construction will follow sometime after that, adding hundreds of thousands of square feet of further working space to the site.
Image by Kyle Field
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