China’s BYD Looking To Open Two Factories In Europe

BYD, the Chinese vehicle manufacturer that will launch its first EVs in Europe in the coming months, is looking to also open two factories on the continent. The company is eyeing locations in both the east and west of the continent, although it will probably prefer those more developed countries where EV demand is already high and growing (that’s what Tesla did with Giga Berlin, for instance).

According to Bloomberg, opening factories in Europe would allow BYD to not only meet this growing demand, but also avoid the high tariffs that have been imposed on Chinese imports by the European Union, which like the United States wants to move production back from the People’s Republic. This would make its vehicles more competitively priced and help the company gain market share in the region.

This Chinese carmaker already has factories in several countries, including one in Canada and three more in Brazil, among others. Its presence is strongest on the Chinese market, where it is the single largest electric vehicle manufacturer by volume – it outsold Tesla for the first time this past April and it’s actually second in the world for overall EV sales after Tesla. The move to open factories in Europe is part of BYD's broader strategy to become a global leader in the electric vehicle industry.

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With its plans to open two factories in Europe, BYD is positioning itself to capitalize on the growing demand for electric vehicles across the continent. The company announced this summer that it wanted to begin selling its China-made EVs in Europe first, starting with the biggest EV markets (Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and France) before expanding further.

BYD wants to enter Europe with a three-strong lineup consisting of the Tang, a seven-seater electric SUV, the sleek Han electric sedan (both of which cost from 72,000 euros) and the Atto 3, a compact electric crossover that’s marginally smaller than a Volkswagen ID.4, and which has a starting price of just under 40,000 euros. The Dolphin and Seal models may also be brought to Europe.

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