BEIJING, February 24 (TMTPOST)— BYD Co., the Chinese automaker backed by Warren Buffett ’s Berkshire Hathaway, seems to speed up global capacity expansion.

Source: Visual China

BYD is weighing where to settle its electric vehicle (EV) assembly factory among three countries in Southeast Asia-- the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, and the talks with the Philippines was at an “advanced stage”,  Ceferino Rodolfo, the Undersecretary of the nation’s Department of Trade and Industry, said in a recent interview. BYD may decide the site as early as next quarter following its visit to the Philippines for possible sites late last year, according to the official.

The role of the abovementioned new plant has not been decided yet. BYD is considering whether to build a plant to produce vehicles from the start to finish or make it a facility just for the final assembly with parts imported overseas, said Lanie Dormiendo, Director at Philippine Board of Investments (BOI).

During talks with BYD , the Indonesian government offered a series of incentives such as tax holidays and access to battery raw materials to attract the EV giant to choose to build a factory there, instead of in its neighboring country, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter on Friday.

A spokesperson of BYD commented the company didn’t have any related information to disclose. If the search for facility site is making progress as reported, BYD may soon launch its second overseas EV plant project.

This is the latest sign of BYD’s efforts for international expansion this year.  Reuters reported in January that BYD planned to set up a component plant in Vietnam, with a possible investment of more than $250 million. BYD is seeking to lease a land of 80 hectares for the new plant, more than doubling the area that its electronic unit used to make solar panels in Vietnam, the report cited sources. The component plant may supply BYD’s vehicle assembly facility in Thailand, which the EV giant just announced to establish in last September. As the first EV-making plant outside China, the facility in Thailand covers about 95 hectares and aims to produce 150,000 units per year.

In late January, the Wall Street Journal learned that Ford Motor Co. discussed with BYD to sell its manufacturing plant in southwestern Germany, which is scheduled to end production in 2025. A a spokesperson at Ford later said the company was discussing with “a number of potential buyers and have nothing further to add at this time.”

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