BYD’s Camaçari plant in Bahia, Brazil — built on the bones of the former Ford Camaçari site that closed in 2021 — has crossed a defining milestone for the Made-in-China EV export story. As of mid-2026, the complex runs at 150,000 vehicles per year of installed capacity, employs over 5,000 local workers across direct manufacturing and tier-one suppliers, and now formally ships to seven Latin American markets as BYD’s regional export hub.
From Ford Site to BYD Mega-Complex
Ford built Camaçari in 2001 as a Mercosur-focused base producing the EcoSport, Ka and Fiesta, peaking at 5,500 jobs before its 2021 shutdown left a 4.7-million-square-meter industrial footprint idle. BYD signed the acquisition in July 2023, took possession in early 2024, and rolled the first locally-built vehicle — a Dolphin Mini from imported CKD kits — off the line in October 2024. Full stamping, painting and final assembly ramped through 2025, with the plant officially declared at full pace in May 2026.
2026 Production Mix and Localization Curve
Four models anchor the local lineup. The Dolphin Mini (Seagull in China) is the volume leader at ~70,000 units/year; the Atto 3 compact SUV runs ~35,000 units; the Seal BEV sedan targets ~20,000; and the Song Plus DM-i PHEV joins production in October 2026 with a 25,000-unit annual target. Local content has climbed from 38% in October 2024 to roughly 62% in June 2026, the biggest single jump coming from the on-site LFP battery cell facility commissioned in February.
Seven-Country Export Footprint
Camaçari now ships locally-built BYDs to Argentina (~4,500 units H1 2026), Chile (8,200), Colombia (5,400), Mexico (6,100, combined with imports from China), Peru (2,900), Uruguay (1,800) and Costa Rica (1,200). Mercosur duty-free movement makes Argentina and Uruguay structurally cheaper to serve; bilateral Brazil FTAs cover Chile and Peru; Mexico is the trickiest given the 2024 China-tariff dynamics, but Brazil-built BYDs qualify for slightly more favorable origin-certificate treatment than China-built ones.
What’s Next: Battery Expansion + Possible Sealion 06
The on-site cell facility is set to expand from 8 GWh to 18 GWh by Q2 2027, the rumored Sealion 06 could be added to the production roster in late 2027 (potentially pushing capacity past 175,000 units), and the Bahia state government is now negotiating R&D and design-center investment as the next anchor.
For the full plant timeline, supplier ecosystem map and country-by-country export breakdown, iEVChina’s full Camaçari analysis is here.
Source: official disclosure / iEVChina analysis
Comments are closed.