BYD Co. has been contacted by the Italian government as part of the country’s efforts to attract a second car manufacturer beyond Fiat maker Stellantis NV.
“We have some contacts to discuss about that,” Michael Shu, managing director of BYD Europe, said in an interview at the Geneva International Motor Show. The Chinese company considered a number of countries for its first European plant, before eventually choosing a site in Hungary.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has plans to attract a new major carmaker to Italy after Stellantis signaled it may move some production to lower-cost countries. Manufacturers are under pressure to become more efficient in the EV transition with battery vehicle prices still far higher than equivalent combustion-engine cars.
BYD, which overtook Tesla Inc. as the world’s biggest EV maker last year, in December confirmed it’ll build a factory in Hungary to help boost sales in the region. The manufacturer is focusing on Hungary and it’s too soon to say when and if a decision will be made on a second site, Shu said.
Asked about BYD, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said Tuesday on the sidelines of an event in the southern city of Taranto that he hopes Italy would be like other European nations with several car-makers producing on its soil to “strengthen” the country’s automotive supply chain, according to comments cited by newswire AGI.
Urso said earlier this month that Italy “backed the arrival” of a second producer, calling it “a project we have been working on for months with meaningful talks with foreign partners.”
BYD’s new plant in Hungary is raising the stakes for Europe’s domestic carmakers, particularly for Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault that also serve the competitive mass-market segment.
News of the investment in Hungary comes a few months after the European Union announced a probe into state subsidies to Chinese EV makers, and could help the company avoid any additional import tariffs. The manufacturer has been cooperating in the investigation, Shu said.
“We have strong products and technology and supply-chain management flexibility,” he said. “Based on facts, I don’t think” the company’s success in Europe “is coming from subsidies.”