The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company BYD just signed a $1 billion USD promise with Turkey’s Industry and Technology Ministry to open a plant in the country. This is a historic deal for the Turkish automotive sector which needs the jobs and which serves as an easy bridge to Europe.
The agreement is for BYD to set up a manufacturing plant and an electric and rechargeable hybrid car production facility to manufacture f 150,000 vehicles a year. There will also be an R&D center for sustainable mobility technologies set up in Turkey.
Given the latest war between the Ukraine and Russia Turkey has made its side clear by aligning with China, Russia and Iran. This may prevent imports to Europe, setting up the Turkish car plants to export to Asian countries nearby.
The plant will is expected to employ up to 5,000 people and will start production at the end of 2026.
“Thanks to Turkey’s unique advantages such as its developing technology ecosystem, strong supplier base, extraordinary location and qualified workforce, BYD’s investment in this new production facility will further improve the brand’s local production capabilities and improve logistics efficiency,” the Chinese automaker said in a statement.
“We aim to reach consumers in Europe by meeting the increasing demand for new energy vehicles in the region,” it added.
Turkey is the third largest automobile manufacturer in the Europe area although the EU has been clear that it will not accept Turkey into the EU. It exports an annual amount of over $35 billion in cars.
The new plant will be built in the western Manisa province.
Just after the news went live the the EU increased tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese EVs to combat undermining European rivals.
Turkish-made cars enter an EU customs union that dates to 1995. Carmakers like Fiat and Renault opened plants there in the 1970s, with Ford, Toyota and Hyundai.
The new deal between Turkey and China will circumvent the high tariffs on Chinese-made cars.
