Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 15 sources
Chinese maker of electric and plug-in hybrid cars and utes, and batteries.
In 2024, Chinese workers brought to build BYD's Brazil car plant were found in slave-like conditions and trafficked.
Also worth knowing
BYD has only partly put this right.
Other electric cars brands
Nothing we've rated in electric cars is better than Lacks transparency yet.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 5 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour, a failing or very low rating (Lead the Charge 16/100 in 2026) and battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelter. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it has only partly put right: forced labour, last recorded in 2024.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rights96% of its products are made in countries such as China and Thailand, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its battery metals to the mine and its aluminium to smelters outside Xinjiang
Red flags 5
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- Red flag: Failing or very low score on an independent rating: Lead the Charge 16/100 (2026)
- Red flag: Relies on battery metals and aluminium it can't trace to the mine or smelterShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 4 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From BYD's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where cars and bikes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 93% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| JapanUsual for the industry | 2% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| GermanyUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| SpainUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| TürkiyeUsual for the industry | under 1% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | under 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| MexicoUsual for the industry | under 1% | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery metals, aluminium and steel link carmakers to state-imposed forced labour in Xinjiang, child and forced labour in DR Congo's cobalt mines and deadly nickel smelters in Indonesia; aluminium auto parts and lithium-ion batteries from China are on the US forced labour list. Source
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Relies on battery metals such as cobalt and nickel from mines and smelters where workers, including children, face deadly collapses and explosions, and on aluminium that may come from Xinjiang, where the state forces Uyghur workers into mines and smelters that audits can't reach. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its battery metals to the mine or its aluminium to the smelter, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does. Source
Research notes BYD Australia says its cars are made in BYD Group's own factories, mostly in China (Changzhou, Fuzhou and Xi'an among them). BYD has recently adopted its first supplier code of conduct, which bans recruitment fees, but it publishes no smelter, refiner or mine names, isn't an IRMA member and shows no tracing of its battery metals or aluminium; independent raters put it near the bottom of the industry. Brazilian prosecutors' case over the trafficked workers on its Camaçari plant site ended in a R$40 million settlement in December 2025, paid mainly by its contractors.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard | Problem found | BYD scored 16% on Human Rights & Responsible Sourcing in the Lead the Charge 2026 auto supply chain leaderboard (14% overall, 14th of 18); a new supplier code bans recruitment fees and asks for minerals due diligence, but it scores 0% on battery mineral due diligence and on Indigenous rights. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Amnesty International's Recharge for Rights ranking (October 2024, the only edition) scored BYD 11 out of 90, the lowest of 13 electric car makers, finding a serious lack of transparency and no disclosure of smelter, refiner or mine names. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | BYD Australia Pty Ltd lodges a modern slavery statement (year to 31 December 2024); it reports annual audits of suppliers by BYD Group but gives no audit results or raw material tracing, and its own modern slavery policy was not yet published. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | BYD's UK business published a signed modern slavery statement in January 2024. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names lithium-ion batteries from China (made with child labour inputs) and Chinese aluminium and aluminium auto parts (forced labour); BYD builds its cars and batteries in China. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | BYD is not on the UFLPA Entity List (October 2026). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Records the Bureau of Investigative Journalism's 2025 findings linking BYD to Xinjiang labour transfers, to which BYD did not respond. View |
Confirmed issues 4
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link through a supplierThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism found at least nine factories tied to BYD in Hubei, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Tianjin taking part in Xinjiang labour transfers, including Xincheng Auto Parts, which has supplied BYD (TBIJ via Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025). Source · archived copy | Not knownBYD did not respond to requests for comment; Transport for London said none of the factories named were on a supplier list BYD had shared with it. |
| 2024 | Brazilian authorities rescued about 220 Chinese workers from slave-like conditions on the construction site of BYD's car factory in Camaçari, Bahia, in late 2024, and labour prosecutors sued BYD and contractors China JinJiang Construction Brazil and Tecmonta for slave-like labour and international trafficking (Taipei Times/AFP, 2025). Source · search the archive | PartlyIn December 2025 BYD and two contractors agreed a R$40 million settlement with prosecutors, R$20 million of it for the rescued workers; BYD admitted no liability and payment isn't confirmed. |
| 2024 | Link through a supplierHuman Rights Watch found BYD among carmakers failing to minimise the risk of Uyghur forced labour in the aluminium in their cars, as Xinjiang smelters take part in state labour transfers (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Source · archived copy | Not knownBYD did not answer Human Rights Watch's questions about its aluminium supply chain or joint venture oversight. |
| 2019 | Link through a supplierThe Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Uyghurs for Sale report named BYD among 83 brands benefiting from Uyghur workers transferred to factories across China (ASPI via SBS News, 2020). Source · search the archive | Not knownNo source reports BYD's response or any action on the factories identified. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Chinese state media reporting cited by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism suggests Xinjiang workers were sent directly to BYD's own electric bus factory in Guangzhou; BYD did not respond (TBIJ via Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 15
Show all 15 sources
- BYD scorecard 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · 14% overall, 16% human rights; new supplier code; 0% on battery mineral due diligence; Brazil red flag
- Human rights ranking of the electric vehicle industry (Amnesty International, 2024) · search the archive · BYD 11/90, lowest; does not disclose smelter, refiner or mine names
- China: More than 30 automobile brands have products with Xinjiang forced labour risks (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025) · archived copy · TBIJ investigation naming BYD; state media on BYD's Guangzhou bus factory; BYD did not respond
- China: Carmakers Implicated in Uyghur Forced Labor (Human Rights Watch, 2024) · archived copy · BYD among carmakers failing to minimise Xinjiang aluminium risk; did not respond
- IRMA members and partners · search the archive · BYD is not an IRMA member
- BYD Australia Pty Ltd modern slavery statement 2024 (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · Vehicles made in BYD Group facilities, mostly in China; annual supplier audits by BYD Group; no raw material tracing
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, page 32 (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Lithium-ion batteries from China made with child labour inputs
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Aluminium from China and auto parts made with it
- UFLPA Entity List (US Department of Homeland Security) · search the archive · BYD is not listed
- The most popular new cars in Australia by country of origin (Chasing Cars, August 2025) · search the archive · BYD Sealion 6, Shark 6 and Seal from China
- Brazil sues BYD over slave-like conditions (Taipei Times/AFP, 2025) · search the archive · 220 Chinese workers rescued from the Camaçari site; prosecutors sued BYD and two contractors seeking R$257 million
- Did coerced labour build your car? (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 2025) · search the archive · At least nine factories tied to BYD in Xinjiang labour transfers; Xincheng Auto Parts has supplied BYD
- More than 80,000 Uighurs sent to work in factories across China, report finds (SBS News, 2020) · search the archive · BYD in ASPI's list of brands benefiting from Uyghur labour transfers
- MPT fecha acordo de R$ 40 milhões após trabalho escravo em obra da BYD (Vrum, December 2025) · search the archive · R$40 million settlement: R$20 million individual damages to 224 rescued workers, R$20 million collective; contractors pay, BYD subsidiarily liable
Published by BYD or its owner
- Modern Slavery Statement BYD UK (January 2024) · search the archive · UK modern slavery statement
Company details
- Owned by
- BYD Company
- Headquarters
- China
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is BYD ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/byd, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent BYD.