BYD to build vehicle plant in Europe
BYD wants to build electric cars in Europe in the future. According to the Chinese manufacturer, this is to support the rapid market ramp-up on the continent. A quick decision seems likely.
As BYD manager Stella Li told Bloomberg, the Chinese manufacturer is planning at least one passenger car plant on the European continent. “Yes, and maybe not only one, it can be two,” Stella Li is quoted as saying. The best location is being evaluated “to support BYD’s fast ramp-up”.
Li did not give more details in the interview – most of the conversation also revolved around the partial sale of BYD shares by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s investment company. So where the plant or plants might be built and what time frame is planned (for both the investment decision and the construction) is not known.
Besides its own European plants, BYD also wants to strengthen its own export business – on the one hand for the transition to its own European production, on the other hand it is not clear whether all models sold in Europe will then also be built here immediately. As Li confirmed to Bloomberg, the company itself has bought ships. “[Due to] The size of BYD, when we go to any shipping companies, their service cannot really 100% satisfy us,” she said.
BYD is initially launching three electric vehicle models in some European countries, with two more to follow in 2023. In Germany alone, BYD wants to sell a six-figure number of electric cars in 2026.
The European models are vehicles based on different platforms. Of the three models for market launch, only the compact SUV Atto 3 is based on BYD’s own electric car platform e-platform 3.0 with 800 volts system voltage. The Han EV as a large electric sedan is still based on a multi-energy platform, as is the Tang EV electric SUV. In 2023, the Seal mid-size sedan and possibly the Dolphin compact car will follow, both of which will be based on the e-platform 3.0.
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