BYD, China’s biggest electric vehicle pmanufacturer and Tesla’s direct rival, has just signed a $1 billion deal for a factory in Türkiye, to open in 2026
The signing of the deal took place in the capital Istanbul, where both Turkish Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kaci and BYD’s chief executive Wang Chuanfu put their names on the contract. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also present at the ceremony.
“We aim to meet the growing demand for new-energy vehicles in the region and reach consumers in Europe”, Chuanfu said.
According to the agreement, BYD will invest around $1 billion in the plant, which should produce 150,000 electric and hybrid vehicles on an annual basis. With the opening, 5,000 jobs should be created and there will also be a research and development centre for sustainable mobility technologies present on-site.
While BYD is generally seen as Tesla’s most direct competitor and the second biggest EV manufacturer in the world, Chinese EV producers are increasingly scrutinised by the US and the EU in order to prevent unfair competition. Last May, the US raised its tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars, solar panels, steel and other items. And only last week, the EU decided to raise its tariffs on Chinese EVs. On top of the 10% import duty, Chinese EV manufacturers now need to pay an extra 17.4% when shipping electric vehicles from China to the EU. Türkiye in particular also took action by implementing an extra 40% tariff on imports of Chinese vehicles.
BYD’s announcement can therefore be seen as a clever way of avoiding those raised tariffs. As Türkiye is part of the EU’s Customs Union, cars made in the country can be sold in Europe without paying the added fee. Moreover, BYD already announced at the end of 2023 that it would soon be the first Chinese EV producer to be opening a manufacturing plant in an EU Member State – Hungary.
