23:00 - 10.06.2026

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June 10, Fineko/abc.az. BYD, the world's leading electric vehicle manufacturer, has suspended its planned automotive plant project in Turkey. The Chinese automaker has shifted its short-term strategic focus toward immediate production localization within the European Union.

ABC.AZ reports, citing international wire sources, that BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li confirmed during an interview in London that work on the Turkish facility has been paused, with no definitive timeline established for construction or assembly rollout.

Strategic Realignment Background:

• Hungary as Top Priority: According to the company, the primary focus is now the completion of its passenger car plant in Szeged, Hungary, where vehicle assembly lines are scheduled to become operational in the fourth quarter of this year.

• Circumventing EU Tariffs: To evade additional European Union tariffs levied on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles, BYD is aggressively positioning itself to become a direct manufacturer inside the trading bloc. Finding a second EU production location remains the firm's immediate second priority.

• Status of the Manisa Plant: Although a official $1 billion agreement was inked last year to establish a manufacturing complex with an annual capacity of 150,000 units in western Manisa, ground has not yet broken on the designated site.

• Acquisition of Dormant Facilities: In a bid to bypass logistics and deployment delays associated with greenfield developments, BYD management is actively in talks to independently take over underutilized or dormant factories from established European OEMs, including Stellantis and Volkswagen, with potential sites short-listed in Italy and France.