The brand’s sales in China have slipped this year, but its sales have surged internationally
- BYD will start large-scale production in Hungary before the end of the year.
- Existing and underutilized factories in Spain, France, and Italy are under consideration.
- BYD is also looking to establish a battery plant in Europe in the future.
Having established itself as the largest car manufacturer in China, BYD is looking to conquer overseas markets. This includes Europe, where it believes it will need four factories as part of a significant local expansion that threatens to shake up the industry and will no doubt leave legacy rivals trembling with fear.
Current advisor for BYD’s European operations, and former Fiat Chrysler executive Alfredo Altavilla, revealed earlier this week that BYD wants to establish three vehicle assembly plants in Europe, in addition to a site dedicated to assembling batteries for EVs.
BYD has just finished building a factory in Szeged, Hungary, and has kicked off trial production. Altavilla says the brand has already started speaking with car manufacturers and governments in Spain, France, and Italy for other sites, as it’s looking to potentially acquire underutilized factories instead of building all-new ones.
“Over the longer term, we will need three assembly plants and one battery plant,” Altavilla revealed to Reuters. “Obviously, this is not something that will happen overnight. However, it is clear that, to achieve the volume targets we have in mind, while at the same time complying with European regulations, that is what we will need.”
Altavilla said BYD wants to decide on the location of a second manufacturing site by the end of the year. It will then need to decide whether it prioritizes a third manufacturing plant or a local battery plant.
Surging Overseas Demand
BYD’s site in Hungary will have the capacity to produce up to 200,000 vehicles annually, with current plans calling for large-scale production to commence in either November or December. In 2024, BYD announced plans for a plant capable of building 150,000 vehicles annually in Manisa, Turkey, originally hoping to start production in late 2026. However, work at this site has been put on indefinite hold.
The automaker is focusing on overseas markets as sales in China decline. This year, BYD sales in its home market have fallen 32.7 percent to 1.505 million. By comparison, overseas deliveries have soared, and the brand expects to end 2026 having sold between 1.9 million and 2.0 million vehicles internationally.
