BYD Hunts for Second European Plant as 'Made in EU' Rules Loom

BYD is searching for an existing factory in southern Europe to house its second assembly plant on the continent, with Spain among the countries on its shortlist, as the Chinese electric-vehicle maker races to establish local production before Brussels tightens its rules on where cars are built.

The company would rather take over a brownfield site than build from scratch, executive vice president Stella Li told reporters in Berlin during the European launch of the Dolphin G, a small electric car. Speaking earlier on the sidelines of an industry conference in London, Li said BYD was talking not only to Stellantis but to other carmakers, adding that it was looking for any available plant in Europe to absorb the region's spare capacity.

The urgency is regulatory as much as commercial. Alfredo Altavilla, a senior adviser to BYD in Europe, told Reuters that Chinese carmakers were scouting existing factories because the EU's proposed local-content requirements would take effect before an entirely new plant could begin production. There was no time to start a greenfield plant today, he said, arguing the only option was to take over and refurbish an existing one.

Local production would allow BYD to sidestep the countervailing duties on Chinese-built EVs that the European Commission imposed in October 2024. It would also deepen a trend that is reshaping the continent's industrial map, with European manufacturers running their plants at roughly half capacity after a market that remains around 3 million cars a year below its 2019 peak.

BYD has already built a factory in Hungary and announced plans for a second site in Turkey by 2027. An acquisition in Spain or Italy would accelerate that footprint by years, handing the world's largest EV seller established manufacturing infrastructure at the moment Brussels is trying to wall off its own.