BYD adviser says carmaker will need three European assembly plants and a battery factory

Altavilla, a former Fiat Chrysler executive, spoke to reporters in Turin late on Wednesday at the opening of a Denza showroom, Bloomberg and Reuters reported. BYD expects to decide on its second European assembly site by the end of this year, favoring the acquisition and refurbishment of an existing factory over building from scratch, Altavilla said.

Spain and France are among the preferred locations. Altavilla told Reuters they were the 'most actionable' options because they offered 'decidedly simpler situations.' Italy remains a candidate but is less likely to be picked. 'Italy remains a plan B,' he said, because Stellantis, the country's sole major automaker, is unwilling to sell any plants. 'I cannot buy something that is not for sale,' he said. BYD is also in talks with European automakers and governments about taking over underused car factories.

Hungary plant is first of three

The Szeged plant is the first of the three assembly plants Altavilla described and BYD's first European passenger car factory. Trial production began on 29 January with 960 people hired, Electric Vehicles reported. Stella Li, BYD's executive vice president, told Reuters on 9 June that vehicle assembly would begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Szeged was to have started building the Dolphin Surf by the end of 2025, so the start of production has slipped by at least a year. The Atto 2 SUV will follow.

The plant is planned for 200,000 vehicles a year at full ramp, though Autopro reported a long-term goal of 300,000, and BYD has said it will run well below that for at least two years. Anadolu Agency reported the project involves about $3 billion and is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs, and that BYD has relocated its European headquarters to Budapest. Autopro reported BYD has mentioned 800 Hungarian employees and that DEKRA has begun training 1,000 workers.

Political review and soil case

Hungary's government is reviewing investment and subsidy agreements signed with Chinese companies under Viktor Orbán, including the terms of BYD's Szeged investment, Nikkei reported. Prime Minister Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party defeated Orbán in April and took office in May, said on 20 July his government would examine all decisions, negotiations and state commitments by former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó related to the BYD investment, the Associated Press reported. Szijjártó, who announced the plant in December 2023, joined BYD in July as director of external relations, a global role outside its Hungarian management.

The Csongrád-Csanád county government office found in February that BYD had moved topsoil to about 20 hectares of farmland without the required tests, a tenth of it contaminated with alkylbenzenes, and filed a police complaint in May. Tests between April and June found contamination no longer above legal limits, and on 24 June the office closed its proceedings with a 10 million forint fine and a requirement that any further soil removal be tested and approved in advance. The police investigation, opened on 19 May, is separate and has not been reported as concluded. Li denied the allegations in June, saying: 'That is a false claim.'

The amount of state support for the project has never been disclosed, Electric Vehicles reported. The European Commission opened a preliminary Foreign Subsidies Regulation investigation in March 2025 and has sent formal information requests to the Hungarian government. It has announced no finding.

Overseas sales and EU rules

The European buildout is meant to support BYD's overseas sales. BYD's overseas sales rose 85.72% year on year to 1,162,260 vehicles in the first eight months of 2026, according to data compiled by CnEVPost. August set a record at 189,466 vehicles, up 134.45% from a year earlier and 43.03% of BYD's monthly total. Those figures cover all overseas markets, not Europe alone. Overseas revenue exceeded domestic revenue for the first time in the first half of 2026, at 53% of total revenue, Electric Vehicles reported.

Deutsche Bank said in a 7 September research note that management raised its 2026 overseas sales guidance to 1.9 million to 2.0 million vehicles and targets more than 2.5 million in 2027. Electric Vehicles reported on 22 September that the 2026 target was raised from 1.5 million in March. The eight-month total is about 58% to 61% of the 2026 target range.

The expansion comes as the EU has imposed additional tariffs on China-made battery electric vehicles. Reuters reported that Brussels is working on 'Made in Europe' rules that will set minimum local content limits for electric vehicles sold in the bloc, expected as soon as next year. The Financial Times reported on 17 September that the EU is seeking a negotiated limit on imports of China-made hybrid vehicles and could raise tariffs if no agreement is reached.