Turkey to soon unveil deal with China's BYD for $1 billion EV plant

Turkey will soon unveil an agreement with Chinese electric-car maker BYD Co. for the construction of a $1 billion plant in the west of the country, Turkish officials said.
 

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to announce the deal on Monday during a ceremony in Manisa province, where the plant will be built, the officials said, asking not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. BYD, China’s best-selling EV brand, and the Turkish presidency declined to comment.

The new plant may give BYD easier access to the European Union, with which Turkey has a customs union agreement. This week, the EU hiked tariffs on imports of Chinese EVs to as high as 48 per cent.
 

There is also a domestic market to serve, with EVs accounting for 7.5 per cent of car sales last year in Turkey, a country with a population of almost 90 million.

On Friday, Turkey eased tariffs recently imposed on imports of Chinese motor vehicles in an effort to encourage investment. That followed talks between Erdogan and China’s President Xi Jinping on Thursday during a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, Kazakhstan.

BYD, China’s best-selling car brand, opened its first EV plant in Thailand on Thursday. It is also building a factory in Brazil and is eyeing another in Mexico. Beyond a plant in Hungary, it has little presence in Europe.

The new factory openings underscore not only BYD’s push but to be closer to big markets but to and hedge against the threat of tariffs.