BYD

BYD, China's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, was identified in a February 2024 Human Rights Watch report titled "Asleep at the Wheel" as failing to minimize the risk of Uyghur forced labor in its aluminum supply chain. Nearly 10% of the world's aluminum, a key material for automotive manufacturing, is produced in the Xinjiang region where the Chinese government has subjected Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim communities to forced labor through both detention centers and labor transfer programs that relocate workers from rural to urban factory settings. HRW documented that aluminum producers in Xinjiang participate directly in these labor transfers. BYD provided no response to HRW's inquiry about supply chain oversight, joint venture governance, or the origin of its aluminum. The report found that some carmakers, including BYD, apply weaker human rights standards at Chinese operations than in their global supply chains.