BYD, the Chinese automaker, will start its local production in Europe in the compact car segment next year, according to BYD’s European chief, Stella Li, in an interview with the business magazine, Capital..
“We will start the high-volume production at the end of 2025. The first two cars we will produce will be the Dolphin and the Atto 3” Li said in the interview. The mentioned models belong to the compact segment, which are electric cars of the so-called Golf class.
BYD has been the market leader in the world’s largest auto market for two years, with Li being the second in command at the company, referring to the automotive plant it is currently building in Hungary, which will be the first of its kind in the EU for the manufacturer.
As the third vehicle, Li said the Atto 2 will follow, which also belongs to the same segment. BYD plans to start in the small car segment later, with an EU-adapted version of the Seagull small car, which, according to Li, will be the fourth model of the new factory.
The plant in Hungary is central to BYD’s market expansion plans in Europe, as the company will then be able to operate independently of the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric cars in Europe, currently importing them. In Germany, the company was known as the sponsor of the European Football Championship last summer.