Credit: Chronicle.lu
Continuing my series of articles on my recent visit to Henan proving in China, this one focuses on visiting the Zhengzhou International Hub located close to the airport.
This is a massive new development of almost 50 km2 over the 750 km2 district that is given to the Belt and Road initiative. It is one of the five centres of the China-Europe Rail initiative, with European hubs at Liege (also serving Luxembourg), Munich, Warsaw and Moscow. It was established in 2022 and it acts as a multimodal transport hub (linking the airport, the railway, the high-speed railway and water transport). It supports several economic clusters, including new energy vehicles, duty free / bonded warehouses, and other cargo (both domestic and international). Build Your Dreams (BYD), an electric vehicle manufacturer, is the first major company located there, with plans for other new energy vehicle companies and suppliers to the automotive industry to locate there in the near future.
BYD
We toured BYD which has only produced new energy vehicles since 2022; it employs 40,000 staff who work six days/week, with three shifts daily, currently manufacturing 35,000 vehicles annually - it plans to reach full capacity at the end of 2024. It produces five models, including both saloon cars and SUVs (three of which are only for the domestic market and the other is partly exported) in its assembly plant, as well as a commercial truck (export only). All vehicles are hybrid, with the car batteries located under the seats offering around 120 km autonomy. It produces its own chassis, engines and batteries, and relies on suppliers for automotive parts such as windscreens, tyres and seats: all these suppliers are expected to set up locally in the near future in the Zhengzhou International Hub.
For the main / introductory article on my trip to Henan, please click here.
