Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD has announced it is operating the world’s largest face mask plant, less than a month after starting production in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The company said it’s factory can produce 300,000 bottles of hand sanitiser gels and five million face masks per day, equivalent to a quarter of China’s entire production capacity.
It claims it was able to begin mask production within seven days of deciding to launch production – it suggests the market would normally take 15 to 30 days to manufacture a mask-producing machine and start output.
BYD is shipping its medical-grade hand sanitisers to medical staff in hospitals and agencies across China.
Sherry Li, Director General of BYD’s President Office, said: A production line for high-quality face masks requires about 1,300 parts for various gears, chains, and rollers, 90% of which are BYD’s self-made parts.
Zhao Jianping, General Manager of BYD’s Quality Division, said: The equipment that we already have offers precision and quality that is much higher than what is commonly required to produce masks.
Last year BYD sold more than 113,000 plug-in EVs worldwide and currently has nearly 40,000 electric buses in service around the world.