Chinese car manufacturer BYD announced February 2 that it was teaming up with the Brazilian energy firm Raízen to create a network of 600 charging stations for EVs across eight cities in Brazil.
According to Reuters, the charging points will be installed over the next three years in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and six other major cities under the Shell Recharge brand.
“Brazil is undergoing an (energy) transition that is different from other countries because it already has a very good solution in hybrid cars, ethanol cars. It’s coming, it’s going to happen,” Ricardo Mussa, the CEO of Raízen, told Reuters. “For us, being a pioneer is very important… This market is a fundamental part of our growth strategy.”
Raízen said that it wants to have a 25% market share of Brazil’s charging station sector. The company previously acquired a network of chargers from the Brazilian startup Tupinamba through its subsidiary Raízen Power.
Alexandre Baldy, a special advisor for BYD in Brazil, said that the agreement comes at a “strategic” time for the company, which could begin producing vehicles in the country as early as this year.
“It’s going to be very important, culturally, to show people that this investment is going to happen… BYD chose Brazil as the second country in the world to invest in, to grow in,” Baldy said.
Sales of electric vehicles in Brazil grew by 91% from 2022 to 2023 to roughly 94,000 units with BYD accounting for almost 20% of those sales.
