Electric car maker BYD is exploring a European plant in Germany

Photo: BYD

And BYD, one of the biggest electric car manufacturers from China is entering Europe. The company also wants to manufacture its cars in the region in the future. One of the places being discussed is Germany.

BYD is reportedly already in talks with the French government about building a factory in the country. But Germany is still in the process of making a regional decision, said a BYD spokesman for the site CarNewsChina. Spain was also mentioned, with the UK excluded due to Brexit.

According to information from car week BYD wants cars to roll off the assembly line in Europe from 2025. The Chinese company plans to build a new plant instead of taking over an existing one.

In Europe, BYD focuses on selling only electric cars. In the German market, the Chinese currently offer the first Han EV sedan, the large SUV Tang EV and the compact SUV Atto 3. The small sedan Dolphin and the mid-size sedan Seal will also be exported this year.

According to market watcher dataforce, BYD sold 4,040 cars in Europe last year, almost four times more than in 2021. Regional sales chief Pere Brugal said in April that selling hybrid cars in Europe is “an option”. , especially in countries with less payment infrastructure. Plug-in hybrid models account for about half of BYD’s electrified vehicle sales in China, with the remaining 50 percent being all-electric.

Last year, BYD sold nearly 1.86 million plug-in and all-electric vehicles, almost exclusively in China. Starting this year, the brand only wants to offer fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids.