(Bloomberg) — BYD Co., the Chinese electric car maker backed by Warren Buffett, is the world’s biggest face-mask maker after starting production less than a month ago to fight the coronavirus outbreak, the company said.
The company can make 5 million masks a day and is further expanding capacity, BYD said Friday in a statement. Founder Wang Chuanfu led a team of 3,000 engineers to build production lines from scratch using 90% in-house components. BYD didn’t specify what type of masks it makes.
Demand for masks and hand sanitizer skyrocketed as the virus broke out, creating shortages and prompting industrial companies to alter and build new production lines. China, the world’s biggest mask producer, boosted manufacturing to 54.8 million units a day as of Feb. 22, about 2.8 times the Feb. 1 output, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
It wasn’t immediately clear how BYD’s production numbers compare with those of others in the industry. For example, 3M Co. said it is ramping up production and makes millions of respirators a month but hasn’t provided specific tallies.
Wang, who founded BYD as a mobile-phone battery maker in 1995, has built up a diversified business that ranges from electric vehicles, EV batteries, monorail development and semiconductors to now protective supplies such as face masks and disinfectants.
Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., petroleum giant Sinopec and iPhone assembler Foxconn are among those now producing masks. The quick switch from one product to another underscores China’s strength as a manufacturing powerhouse and highlights the urgency with which companies are trying to stop the deadly virus from paralyzing operations.
