China’s electronics giant BYD plans expansion at northern Vietnam plant

BYD, a supplier of Apple, is seeking to expand operations at its VND9.5 trillion ($366 million) plant in Vietnam’s northern province of Phu Tho to meet growing market demands for new products.

According to its proposal submitted to the provincial government, BYD Electronics (Vietnam) Company Limited plans to diversify the plant’s manufacturing portfolio.

New products include Apple’s Magic Trackpad keyboards, with an annual output of one million units, and styluses for tablets, projected at 1.59 million units per year.

BYD also asked for approval to manufacture 18.72 million metal casings for Apple tablets annually, a product not yet produced at the Phu Tho facility.

Additionally, the company aims to repair up to 600,000 Apple iPads per year, including devices produced both in Vietnam and at BYD’s global facilities.

Other proposed products in this expansion include USB chargers, in-car fast wireless chargers, robotic pool cleaners, lithium batteries, 4G/5G chips, GPS modules for smartphones and tablets, gimbal stabilizers, ultra-light consumer drones, and graphic processing boards.

BYD Vietnam expects to complete regulatory procedures and construct new components at the plant between July 2025 and February 2026, with trial production beginning during this period and full operations scheduled to launch by June 2026.

BYD started investing in the Phu Tho factory, located in Phu Ha industrial park, in 2021. The most recent capital injection of $144 million was made in August 2023. The factory currently employs 11,000 workers, with estimated revenue of $2.8 billion in 2024.