Chinese carmaker BYD Co has postponed plans to produce lithium cathodes for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in Chile by 2025, according to the firm’s Americas head, reports Reuters. Chile’s economic development agency CORFO last year said production at a new plant to be developed by BYD was expected to begin around the end of 2025, representing a $290 million investment in the world’s second-largest lithium-producing country.
BYD Chief of Americas Stella Li said she was unsure when the company would resume its plans, citing uncertainty and complications around the project, which would make components needed for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
“That plan has been postponed because there is a lot of uncertainty,” Li said in an interview at a launch event in Mexico City for a hybrid-electric pickup truck. She did not elaborate.