US lawmakers demand that BYD provide "corporate structure" and other documents for investigation of its US electric bus business.

The US House Homeland Security Committee told Bloomberg that China's automobile manufacturer BYD has been requested to submit multiple corporate documents to the committee.

In a letter to BYD Executive Vice President and Americas Region CEO Li Ke and BYD Senior Vice President and Co-CEO of RIDE Paul Tuan, the US House Homeland Security Committee stated that the company is required to provide documents related to "corporate structure, data security practices, and operational footprint," as BYD's "increasing role in the electric bus market and the deployment of BYD vehicles in the US transportation system have raised serious concerns about potential foreign influence, data breaches, and system vulnerabilities."

The company split its US bus business into the RIDE brand in 2023, which was registered in the US but remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of BYD headquartered in China.

BYD briefly commented in a short statement on Tuesday evening, stating that it has not yet received this letter and therefore cannot comment. It is known that BYD has opened or announced plans to open assembly plants in at least 10 countries outside China and has become one of the top global automobile manufacturers. At the end of 2023, BYD briefly surpassed Tesla to become the world's largest pure electric vehicle seller.

BYD initially produced lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics before entering the car and bus markets and gradually developing into a supplier for tech giants like Apple. The company's factory in Vietnam produces products such as Apple touchpads.

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, invested $232 million in BYD, once holding 20% of its shares listed in Hong Kong, equivalent to 8.25% of its total business. Last year, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake to less than 5%.

The report indicates that the above committee requires information from BYD including a list of all contracts, grants, financing, tax incentives, and subcontracting agreements awarded to BYD and RIDE at federal, state, and local levels since 2018. The committee hopes BYD will provide detailed ownership structures, records of communications with any US or Chinese lobbying firms, cybersecurity audits and assessments, data storage policies, and specific information about all electric school buses contracted or currently in use in the US. The deadline for the response is June 9.

According to previous reports by Bloomberg, BYD built an electric bus factory in Lancaster, California in 2013. Since 2014, BYD has spent over $1.7 million lobbying state officials on clean air regulations, fuel taxes, and state-funded zero-emission truck and bus vouchers.

Last year, BYD received a $30 million grant from the California government to expand its Lancaster plant for the production of electric school buses. Despite attempts by the US Congress to legislate to exclude this Chinese company, BYD has continued to retain its business in the US by selling its bus vehicles to US cities and school districts.

Source: rfi

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832750393693258/

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