(AFP/GREG BAKER)
BYD wants to overtake Tesla in Europe by 2030 on the electric car market, particularly with entry-level models, the Chinese manufacturer’s European director said on Thursday.
“We are confident that we could become leaders” by the end of the decade in Europe, said Michael Shu during the Financial Times (FT) annual conference on the future of the automobile.
After starting as a battery manufacturer, BYD (“Build Your Dreams”) overtook Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023 to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles. But Elon Musk’s group claims to have regained this title in the first quarter of this year.
BYD’s first European car factory is due to start in 2025 in Hungary, where it already makes buses.
The country has become an important base for Chinese industry, a cooperation celebrated Thursday with the arrival of President Xi Jinping for almost a three-day visit, after a visit to France.
BYD is preparing to “make a heavy investment in the European Union”, which could represent “several billion euros”, in factories, distribution networks and marketing, announced Mr. Shu on the London stage of the FT .
In particular, BYD must decide in the coming months whether it will build a second European car factory.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday that BYD and the Chinese automobile industry were “welcome in France”.
The manufacturer is just beginning its offensive in Europe, with mid-range vehicles at competitive prices.
BYD could, however, position itself fairly quickly in the electric entry-level with its small Seagull (seagull, in English), priced around 20,000 euros, and compete with the Citroën C3 and future small electric Renaults or Volkswagens.
The new factory in Szeged (south) will manufacture electric cars “in Europe and for Europe”, underlined Mr. Shu. If BYD is in the process of sending thousands of cars on its own cargo ships, “exporting cars from China to Europe is not feasible in the long term,” commented the manager.
Szeged should also manufacture plug-in hybrid models (with a thermal engine and a large electric battery) because Europe has fallen behind in the installation of charging stations, according to Mr. Shu.