According to Reuters, a fire broke out just before 3 a.m. on April 14 at BYD’s Pingshan campus in Shenzhen, the research and manufacturing complex that serves as the global headquarters of China’s largest electric vehicle maker.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze at 8:26 a.m. More than 1,000 vehicles were destroyed, with direct losses estimated at over 10 million yuan (about $1.4 million). Authorities said no casualties were reported.
Local officials said the fire began when workers from an outside contractor failed to follow required fire-safety procedures while dismantling idle equipment. Sparks ignited nearby insulation material, and the flames spread into a multi-story parking structure used to store prototype and scrapped vehicles.
Residents in nearby neighborhoods said they were awakened by loud noises and saw flames lighting up the sky.
A resident surnamed Li, who lives in the Jinlong community in Pingshan’s Maluan subdistrict, said she initially thought the sound was thunder before noticing the glow outside her window.
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“The whole area was lit up,” she said. “Flames and embers were rising into the air, and you could see it across the neighborhood.”
Another resident surnamed Wang said he drove past the area around 6 a.m. and saw thick smoke covering a large section of the sky. He said the smell of burning plastic and metal was strong, and fire trucks were continuing to arrive.
Posts and videos shared on Chinese social media showed flames engulfing the structure and dark smoke visible from a distance. Some nearby schools and businesses suspended operations as a precaution.
An employee surnamed Zhang said he was evacuated from the campus shortly before 3 a.m. after an emergency alert was issued.
He said the garage is located near Factory No. 20 and is used to store test vehicles under development as well as vehicles designated for scrapping. He said it is not connected to BYD’s active production lines.
Zhang said the fire spread quickly through multiple levels of the structure, igniting vehicles as it moved upward. Burning battery components and interior materials produced large amounts of smoke.
Authorities in Pingshan district said the incident has been classified as a workplace safety accident caused by failures in contractor management.
The Shenzhen Pingshan District Fire and Rescue Bureau deployed multiple firefighting units to the scene. Environmental monitoring did not detect toxic gas levels exceeding safety standards, officials said.
BYD said the fire was confined to the test and scrap vehicle storage area and did not affect its mass production lines or its Blade Battery technology.
The company said Factory No. 20 and nearby areas were temporarily shut down as a precaution, and testing activities were suspended. It is arranging alternative locations to relocate remaining test vehicles.
In a notice issued after the incident, BYD said it would suspend external construction and dismantling operations across its facilities pending safety inspections.
The company said it would review fire safety systems and contractor management practices, with a focus on operations involving heat sources, equipment dismantling, and storage areas.
BYD, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Shenzhen, is one of the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers. It operates multiple industrial parks in China and overseas and surpassed Tesla in global EV sales in 2023.
The Pingshan campus functions as the company’s main research and development center.
