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Chinese EV maker Byd to open $1bn plant in Turkey

By Pramod Kumar
The Byd booth at the Auto Shanghai show in April 2023. The new Byd factory in Turkey will boost its access to the EU Reuters/Aly Song
The Byd booth at the Auto Shanghai show in April 2023. The new Byd factory in Turkey will boost its access to the EU

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Byd will construct a $1 billion plant in Turkey, according to a news report.

The agreement was signed between the Chinese company and Turkey’s industry and technology ministry on Monday in the presence of Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdogan.

Bloomberg reported citing officials that the announcement planned on Monday.

The electric and rechargeable hybrid car production facility will produce 150,000 vehicles per year. In addition, there will be an research and development (R&D) centre for sustainable mobility technologies in Turkey, Daily Sabah newspaper reported.
 
The new factory will boost Byd’s access to the European Union (EU), given Turkey’s customs-union agreement with the trade bloc, the report said.

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The EU this month announced plans to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs, adding 17.4 percent to the existing 10 percent rate.
 
Turkey unveiled plans to remove the additional 40 percent tariff on all vehicles from China to encourage investment from Beijing.

President Erdogan and China’s President Xi Jinping met last Thursday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana, Kazakhstan, the news agency reported.

Passenger and light commercial vehicle sales declined by 5.3 percent year on year in June to 106,238 units, a third consecutive monthly drop, the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association data showed.
 
However, EV sales hit 8,032 units last month, surging over 143 percent year on year. Sales climbed by 223 percent to 35,636 units from January to June.

Turkey saw a ninefold jump in EV sales last year, with 65,562 units sold, making up 6.8 percent of the total auto market.

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