(May 13): BYD Co is negotiating with Stellantis NV and other European carmakers about taking over underutilised factories in the region, according to the Chinese company’s top international executive.
The world’s largest seller of electric vehicles is discussing potential deals to take on plants in countries like Italy, executive vice-president Stella Li said in an interview Wednesday.
“We are talking to not only Stellantis, we’re talking to other companies too,” Li said on the sidelines of the Financial Times Future of the Car conference in London. “We are looking for any available plant in Europe because we do want to utilise this kind of spare capacity.”
Li’s comments follow a plan unveiled by Stellantis earlier this month to work more closely with Leapmotor in Europe, with two of the Fiat and Peugeot maker’s Spanish factories producing electric vehicles for the Chinese company. Other European carmakers are also dealing with high costs and intense competition, and are open to similar Chinese deals.
BYD would prefer to operate the plants on its own rather than joint ventures, Li said.
Under pressure from a price war in China, BYD has been aggressively expanding abroad, with sales soaring in Europe. The brand, whose international expansion is being led by Li, is benefiting from renewed interest in EVs since fuel prices spiked in the wake of the Middle East conflict.
See also: BYD, Tesla may face import caps as Canada works out China EV quota
BYD has been stepping up hiring from rivals to bolster its Denza line in Europe, Bloomberg News reported last month. The upmarket brand will go on sale in the UK later this year.
Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane
