Chinese EV maker BYD to build $1 billion plant in Turkey

Hong Kong
CNN
—

China’s BYD competes with Tesla for the title of world’s top manufacturer The Turkish government has announced that it has agreed to build a $1 billion car factory in Turkey for battery electric vehicles.

BYDCEO of Wang Xuanfu and Turkey’s Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Gazi signed the agreement in Istanbul, according to a Turkish ministry statement on Monday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed Ceremony, it said.

“We aim to meet the growing demand for new energy vehicles in the region and reach out to consumers in Europe,” BYD quoted representatives as saying.

The notification came in a few days Temporary additional duties Imports of Chinese-made EVs into the European Union became a reality. The tariffs, which range from 17.4% to 37.6%, are aimed at stemming a flood of cheap Chinese cars that the EU considers unfairly subsidized by the government.

Turkey is in a customs union with the European Union. This means vehicles can be exported from the country to the trading block free of charge.

According to the agreement with Turkey, BYD will invest about $1 billion in the factory, which will be able to produce 150,000 electric and hybrid vehicles annually, and set up a research and development center for sustainable mobility technologies at the plant.

The factory is expected to start production by the end of 2026 and provide 5,000 jobs in the country.

CNN reached out to BYD for comment, but did not receive a response.

An EU decision earlier this year imposed an additional 17.4% duty on BYD shipments from China, on top of the standard 10% duty on all car imports.

Negotiations between the EU and China are expected to continue but, if no agreement is reached, the additional tariffs will become firm in November.

Already BYD declared In December, it will build an EV factory in EU member Hungary, becoming the first major Chinese automaker to do so To build passenger cars in Europe.