China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is considering establishing a plant in France. Stella Li, the company’s Executive Vice President, told French television channel BFM. BYD is seeking to expand in Europe and has already announced vehicle production in Hungary, where it plans to start production in the fourth quarter.
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Li stated that the carmaker aims to build two more plants in Europe, and one of them could be in France. “France is on the shortlist because energy prices here are very competitive,” she added, noting that the group is carefully exploring options for building a plant in the country.
Chinese car manufacturers are exploring manufacturing options in Europe due to anticipated EU local content rules, which are intended to protect the region’s industry from an increase in imports from China. Local production in Europe is also intended to help Chinese carmakers avoid import tariffs.
Agencies Reuters and AFP reported today, citing European Commission representatives, that the EU has agreed with Beijing that a maximum of 350,000 Chinese hybrid vehicles can be imported into the union annually. The agreement “will reduce the current volume of exports to the EU – which is expected to reach 800,000 vehicles by the end of 2026 – by more than half,” a commission official stated.
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BYD Dominates Europe, EU Imposes New Tariffs
The issue of hybrid vehicles represents one of the most sensitive matters in relations between the EU and China. Hybrids have become one of the main channels through which Chinese manufacturers penetrate the European market. Here, they fiercely compete with local manufacturers and threaten jobs in the EU.
At the end of October 2024, the EU introduced countervailing duties of up to 35.3 percent on imports of electric vehicles from China. The Commission claims that Beijing artificially lowers the cost of EV production through unfair subsidies, which Beijing denies. The countervailing duties are levied in addition to the standard ten percent import tariff on cars in the EU.
Last year, BYD ranked sixth globally in terms of cars sold, with 4.6 million vehicles. In Europe, its sales surged by 270 percent to nearly 188,000 vehicles.
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Source: ČTK
