BYD Delays Hungary Plant Launch to Q4 2024, Halts Turkey Factory Plans

BYD's vehicle assembly plant in Szeged, southern Hungary, is set to commence full vehicle production in the fourth quarter of 2024—earlier than originally planned for late 2025. The facility is currently still undergoing equipment installation. Stella Li, Vice President of BYD, stated that the Hungary project is the company’s top priority and revealed that BYD’s next strategic focus is to identify a second European location for a vehicle manufacturing base. Additionally, BYD has suspended its previously announced plan to build a factory in Turkey. That project, initially slated for a $1 billion investment and a 2024 start-up, has not yet broken ground, and no timeline for construction or production has been confirmed. Chinese automakers, including BYD and Chery, have encountered delays in their European plant projects. Chery’s joint-venture plant near Barcelona, Spain, has postponed its production launch multiple times and is now expected to roll out its first vehicles in 2026. Local production in Europe helps Chinese EV makers circumvent the EU’s additional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. In 2023, BYD sold approximately 188,000 vehicles in Europe, a 270% year-over-year increase. From January to May 2024, its cumulative sales in the region exceeded 100,000 units, up 144% compared to the same period last year.