Chinese car company, BYD is planning on starting car production within Europe for the first time, which is most likely in response to import tariffs in Europe. As of writing, when Chinese cars are sold in the UK, no import tarrifs are added. Executive Vice President of BYD, Stella Li said in a recent interview with German business magazine Capital that BYD will start production in Europe by the end of 2025.

“We will start the ramp-up at the end of 2025. The first two cars we will produce will be the Dolphin and the Atto 3.”

Stella Li, Executive Vice President BYD

BYD will be manufacturing the existing Dolphin and the Atto 3 at its new factory in Hungary. BYD has been building the factory since the end of 2023 and at the time, it said that car production at the factory would start within three years. However, with the recent comments from Stella Li, this looks like it will now happen a lot sooner than originally planned. In addition to the Dolphin and the Atto 3, the brand new Atto 2 will also be manufactured in Europe. This means though, that the inexpensive Seagull, which was also due to come from the same factory, has been delayed to be a forth model.

BYD in the has been selling the Dolphin, a hatchback similar in size to the Volkswagen ID.3, the Atto 3 which is a mid-size SUV, similar to the Nissan Qashqai and the Seal, a saloon car a bit larger than the Tesla Model 3. The company also recently released the all electric Sealion 7 SUV and its first hybrid, the Seal U DM-i.

Source: Capital