Chinese automaker BYD is planning to open two production sites in Europe, according to Bloomberg. BYD is looking at site in the western and eastern regions of Europe, and the manufacturer is evaluating the locations that will best support its quick ramping up of volume overseas, BYD executive vice president Stella Li told Bloomberg.
Opening factories in Europe will enable BYD not only to meet growing demand in the region, but also to bypass the high tariffs imposed by the European Union upon products from China, that way enabling the carmaker to price its products more competitively and grow sales and thus, market share in the region, according to the Bloomberg report.
The Chinese brand is also purchasing its own ships for the export of its cars, in order to fulfil its logistics needs, said Li. “[With] the size of BYD, when we go to any shipping companies, their service cannot really satisfy us 100%,” she said.
The continued expansion of BYD’s production sites comes after the brand outsold Tesla for the first time in April this year in China, according to Inside EVs, and is on track to match, possible even surpass Tesla in pure EV sales by the first quarter of next year, reported Automotive News Europe.
Even so, BYD executive VP Li said that she does not view Tesla as a competitor, because the EV maker’s success meant that more people are learning about electric vehicles. “Our competition, maybe our enemy, is the combustion-engine car,” Li said.
The brand spearheaded its European market entry in October this year with the Atto 3 and Tang SUVs as well as the Han sedan, and of these, the Atto 3 has been launched in Malaysia offering a battery range of up to 420 km on the WLTP testing protocol in Extended Range guise with a 60.48 kWh battery; prices start from RM149,800 for the 49.92 kWh Standard Range variant.
In addition to the Atto 3 for Malaysia, local distributor BYD SD Motors Malaysia (BYD SDM) previously revealed that it will also be bringing the Dolphin and Seal EVs to the Malaysian market, with the latter previewed at the Atto 3 launch last week.
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