$比亚迪(SZ002594)$ “我认为现在是我们在巴西投资开发这些新技术的政治和环境时机，”比亚迪美洲总裁李斯特拉在周三推出两款 SUV 车型期间接受采访时表示。

10 月，比亚迪与巴伊亚州政府签署了一份意向书，着眼于在福特汽车公司 (F.N) 关闭位于首都萨尔瓦多以外的工厂后留下的工业区建立汽车生产基地。

巴伊亚州政府表示，比亚迪将投资 30 亿雷亚尔（5.5 亿美元）在三个工厂生产电动巴士和卡车底盘，以及电动汽车和混合动力车，还将加工巴西锂用于汽车电池出口到中国。

巴伊亚州政府当时表示，其中两个工厂将于 2024 年投产，第三个工厂将于 2025 年投产。

李拒绝透露细节，并表示应该在今年年底前就该项目做出决定。

当被问及巴西政治、经济和法律动荡的历史所带来的风险时，她说比亚迪“对巴西很有耐心”。

“我们来巴西快10年了，这段时间我们经历了很多政治变化，还有汇率波动、通货膨胀。但我认为从长远来看，巴西有自己的优势，”李说。

她列举了巴西市场的规模、锂等电池原材料的可用性，以及新政府似乎更愿意鼓励该行业。

SAO PAULO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ) will start selling two new electric vehicle models in Brazil this month, betting on favorable political and environmental developments in Latin America's largest vehicle market, the company said.

"I believe now is the right time politically and environmentally for us to invest in building these new technologies in Brazil," BYD Americas President Stella Li said in an interview during the launch of the two SUV models on Wednesday.

The cars are the hybrid Song and the totally electric Yuan. They will be imported until new factories to make them in the northeastern state of Bahia start operations.

"But it will be a very challenging process and we need a government that has an open mind for technology to grow here," Li added.

President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who takes office on Jan. 1, has promised to overhaul Brazil's environmental policies, and his program for the election he won in October calls for industries focused on a "green economy" and the need to modernize the auto industry with hybrid.

In October, BYD signed a letter of intent with the government of Bahia with an eye to setting up vehicle production in the industrial area left by Ford Motor Co (F.N) when it closed its factory outside the capital Salvador.

The Bahia government said BYD would build electric bus and truck chassis, as well as electric cars and hybrids at three plants with an investment of 3 billion reais ($550 million), and also process Brazilian lithium for vehicle batteries for export to China.

Two of the plants will go onstream in 2024 and the third in 2025, the Bahia government said at the time.

Li declined to give details and said a decision on the project should be made by the end of this year.

Asked about the risk posed by Brazil's history of political, economic and legal turmoil, she said BYD "has a lot of patience with Brazil."

"We have been in Brazil for almost 10 years. We have experienced many political changes in this period, in addition to exchange rate fluctuations, and inflation. But I think that in the long term, Brazil has its own advantages," Li said.

She cited the size of the Brazilian market, availability of raw material for batteries such as lithium, and a new government that appears to be more open to encouraging the sector.

"We are at a very good moment to start to expand technologies here ... and in time Brazil will be able to develop its own industry" for electric and hybrid vehicles, she said.

BYD expects that 10% of all vehicle sales in Brazil will be electric and hybrid models by 2025, compared to the current 2.4%, and the EV market share could jump to 30% by 2030.

Li pointed to the tax burden as one of the main factors behind the high prices of electric and hybrid vehicles in Brazil compared to other markets.

"If you charge high taxes, you kill the baby before it can grow," she said.

($1 = 5.4487 reais)

Reporting by Alberto Alerigi; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Richard Chang