Automotive company BYD is under investigation for environmental pollution in China.
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BYD Auto is being investigated for air pollution in Changsha, China. Residents in the area have filed complaints against the automaker, alleging that air polluted by the company's manufacturing processes has caused nosebleeds in people living around the plant.
Shenzhen-based BYD Auto, a Chinese domestic electric vehicle maker that controls nearly 30% of the domestic non-ICE vehicle market, was recently criticized for air pollution.
Environmental quality monitoring turned into an investigation
The newly commissioned plant in Changsha, the largest city and capital of Hunan Province, was included in the government's VOC pollution monitoring program last year; This monitoring has now escalated into an investigation as hundreds of active protests by residents were staged at the site after locals complained of declining health. BYD Auto denied the allegations, saying it was following "national norms and standards," and the company also said it took the extra step of reporting complaints to local police as defamation.
BYD is the fourth largest automaker in the world
BYD Auto is relatively unknown in the United States as the company does not yet sell consumer vehicles in the United States (although it does make electric buses and forklifts for the US domestic market). However, they are the fourth largest electric vehicle manufacturer on the planet with a projected revenue of nearly $12,000 billion in 2022 and are backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. The company, which started out as a battery manufacturer in the mid-90s and moved into car manufacturing in the early 2000s, announced earlier this year that it would stop making ICE cars in a bid to cut carbon emissions.
However, this has not stopped reports of volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution, as VOCs are used in many other steps in the manufacturing process, including paint and interior components.
What caused the protests of the residents
Investigations and protests were sparked by regional family surveys that showed that hundreds of children fell ill in the vicinity of the plant, many of them with nosebleeds and symptoms of respiratory irritation reported in the local government newspaper. BYD said it denied the police reports following the comments, saying they were "baseless and malicious". Attempts to contact the US division of the company for comment were unsuccessful.
New car smell creates pollution
BYD is far from the first automaker to be accused of VOC pollution, as Tesla recently reached an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year over paint-induced VOC Clean Air Act violations at its Fremont facility. If you're wondering what VOC pollution looks like, it's the cause of the new car smell that European governments have tried to reduce for fear of respiratory damage. The Changsha authorities' investigation is still ongoing, but ideally officials could find a way to prevent children from having nosebleeds.
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