Chinese car giant BYD plans to double its overseas sales to more than 800,000 vehicles this year. The company’s chief Wang Chuan-fu said this at a meeting with analysts. He added that the company will try to avoid tariffs through local production. He said he expects a significant increase in market share in Britain and sees big growth opportunities in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Reuters reported.
BYD vs Tesla in the Global Race for the Top Spot
BYD has recently been vying for the top spot in the global market for pure electric cars with US rival Tesla, headed by billionaire Elon Musk. BYD still sells the vast majority of its cars in the Chinese market, but is looking to expand its international presence, including in Europe.
Last year, BYD increased its total sales by 41 percent to nearly 4.3 million vehicles. The growth was mainly driven by hybrid-powered cars. It sold more than 417,000 vehicles abroad last year.
BYD has decided to build its first European passenger car factory in Hungary at the end of 2023 as part of its overseas expansion. The plant will produce electric and hybrid cars for the European market.
Plans for New Factories and Record Profits
The Hungarian factory is expected to start operations this October, with a new BYD plant in Turkey to start production next year. The total capacity of the two factories will be 500,000 vehicles per year.
BYD is also building factories in Brazil and Thailand. BYD’s special adviser for the European market, Alfredo Altavilla, said last week that the carmaker intends to decide on the location of another European factory later this year.
The BYD carmaker said this week that it increased net profit by 34 percent last year to a record 40.3 billion yuan. Sales rose 29 percent to 777 billion yuan, putting the company ahead of US rival Tesla, which made $97.7 billion in sales last year.
