BYD puts France on shortlist for second European plant

France joins the shortlist

Li said the French site would not be the last. She spoke to BFM television at the Paris Motor Show. She said BYD would "try to have a second and a third factory in Europe" after its Hungarian plant opens [3][5]. That plant is due to start production by the end of this year [3][5].

BYD has made no final investment decision. It has published no investment amount, capacity figure or start date for a French site [4][5].

Li cited France's competitive electricity prices as a reason the country interests BYD [5]. Assembly plants use large amounts of energy for painting, parts machining and equipment operation. That makes power prices and supply stability central to site selection [5]. Bloomberg reported in May that France was a longer-term target for the same reason [2].

Li framed the goal in local terms. "I want people in France to think that BYD is a French company," she said [3][9].

Why a factory inside Europe matters

A plant inside the EU would let BYD build cars behind the bloc's tariff wall. The EU applies a combined 27% duty on China-built electric cars, including a 17% countervailing duty, and has charged tariffs on Chinese EV imports since 2024 [3][7]. Draft rules would go further: the Industrial Accelerator Act proposes a local-content threshold of about 70% for subsidies and public procurement [7]. The proposal still had that figure in square brackets when it appeared in February [7].

The trade pressure now covers hybrids too. China and the EU reached an understanding on 8 and 9 October to limit Chinese hybrid and plug-in hybrid exports [3][5].

The EU said it would cap imports of Chinese hybrids at 350,000 a year, less than half the current level [3]. China's commerce ministry based the arrangement on 2025's 302,000 units. It did not publish the 350,000 figure, which foreign media reported from EU officials [5]. Reuters reported that the arrangement hits BYD hardest, as the largest Chinese exporter of hybrids to Europe [4]. Li said on 12 October that she did not yet have the details [3][5].

Li described the push as long term. BYD had a "long-term commitment to Europe" and would "invest massively" there, she told BFM [3].

The sales base behind the plant

The French base is small but growing fast. BYD registered 13,935 passenger vehicles in France in the first half of 2026, up 136% from a year earlier, according to company figures [9].

Across the wider region the numbers are larger. BYD registered 174,144 vehicles across the EU, EFTA and Britain in the first half of 2026, overtaking Tesla's 170,351 for the first time, according to ACEA data [7]. Its EU market share rose to 2.4% from 1.0% [7]. The dealer network is already in place: around 115 dealerships in France in July, run with groups including Bymycar, Emil Frey and Bodemer [9]. Overseas, BYD sold 1,162,260 vehicles in the first eight months of 2026, up 85.72% year on year [6].

Management has raised its targets twice. BYD now aims for 1.9 million to 2.0 million overseas sales in 2026. That target is up from 1.5 million set in March, itself raised from 1.3 million in January, according to a Deutsche Bank note [7].

BYD delivered 463,561 new-energy vehicles in September, up 16.98% year on year, but its nine-month total of 3,131,576 was down 3.94% [4]. Bloomberg reported, citing Li, that the company aims to grow European headcount past 40,000 by 2030, after clearing 10,000 in the near term [4].

Buying factories instead of building them

Alfredo Altavilla is BYD's European adviser and a former Fiat Chrysler executive. He said in Turin in September that BYD will need three assembly plants and one battery factory in Europe over the longer term [6][7]. He said BYD would choose the second assembly site by the end of this year, with a preference for acquiring and refurbishing an existing facility over building from scratch [6][7]. Spain and France are the leading candidates [6].

"Italy remains a plan B," Altavilla said [6].

In May, BYD was in advanced talks to buy idle plants from Stellantis and other European carmakers, and Li named Italy as a candidate then [1][2]. Li said BYD's preferred model was outright ownership rather than shared arrangements, describing sole control as "easier" [2]. Stellantis has already done this once: it deepened its tie-up with Leapmotor and gave two Spanish plants to the brand [2].

BYD changed hands at EUR 8.38 on 19 October, down 22% since the start of the year and not far from its 52-week low of EUR 8.03 [4].

What happens next

BYD is expected to decide on the second European assembly site by the end of this year [6][7]. Production at BYD's first European plant in Hungary is due to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 [3][5]. Li also said BYD would accredit more dealers over the next two years to localise its sales network [5].

France remains only a candidate. BYD has announced no site, investment sum or employment figure [4][5].