The Chinese automobile manufacturer BYD is preparing to become a leading electric car provider in Europe by the end of the decade. To this end, the company is planning to invest billions in factories, dealers and marketing, explained BYD Europe boss Michael Shu on Thursday evening (local time) at the “Future of the Car” summit of the “Financial Times
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To this end, BYD is considering building a second assembly plant in Europe. Shu did not provide further details. BYD had already announced the construction of a plant in Hungary last December, making it the first Chinese electric car manufacturer to have its own production facility in Europe. The plant in Hungary is scheduled to start production next year.
The European Commission is currently investigating whether Chinese car manufacturers are using subsidies to keep the prices of their vehicles artificially low. The investigation is widely expected to lead to higher tariffs on imported models. According to the report, Shu emphasized that BYD plans to produce its cars “in Europe for Europe,” which should help it avoid EU penalties or tariffs. The transport of cars from China In any case, going to Europe is “not a long-term solution”. In the long term it is about producing locally.
At the same time, the BYD manager in London announced that he would bring an electric car based on the “Seagull” model onto the European market for less than 20,000 euros. In China, the model sells for around $10,000. The competitor Volkswagen had recently announced an entry-level model for the second half of the decade.
The plan to set up the first BYD factory in Hungary is given even more weight by the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping (70) to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (60). The two countries signed a total of 18 agreements during the visit. Under Orbán, Hungary has developed into an important trading partner for China and is therefore pursuing a different strategy than other EU countries. Xi began his first trip to Europe in five years in France on Tuesday.