BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle company, will build a new production plant in Turkiye in response to the EU’s “tariff bomb.”
BYD Chairman Wang signed a $1 billion agreement with Turkiye’s Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kazur in Istanbul on the 8th, attended by BYD President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. BYD has decided to open an R&D center with facilities capable of producing 150,000 electric and hybrid vehicles per year at its new Turkiye plant. The company plans to hire 5,000 people directly from Turkiye at its new BYD plant, which will start operation by the end of 2026.
The agreement came three days after the EU applied a tariff rate of up to 47.6% on Chinese electric vehicles on the 5th. Under the Turkiye -EU Customs Union, which took effect in 1996, cars manufactured in Turkiye can be exported on more favorable terms to the EU. Major automakers such as Fiat, Renault, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai Motor also have factories in Turkiye.
“Our goal is to reach European consumers who are increasingly in demand for alternative energy vehicles,” BYD said in a statement. “We expect BYD’s productivity and logistics efficiency to improve by investing in Turkiye with multiple advantages.” Minister Kazur said in a statement, “It is a historic day for our automobile industry,” and stressed that “BYD’s decision is a global investment hub for Turkiye.”
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
