During the plant’s deal-signing event, Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir shared photos of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with BYD Chief Executive Wang Chuanfu on social networking platform X.
“With an estimated investment of one billion dollars, we envision BYD establishing an R&D center for mobility technologies in our nation, as well as an electric and rechargeable hybrid car production facility with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles,” Kacir stated.
“Up to 5,000 people will be directly employed by the facility, which is expected to begin production at the end of 2026.”
In an effort to defend its sector, the European Union increased duties on Chinese electric vehicles last week. Because Turkey and the EU have a customs union, the agreement may make it easier for investors—including BYD, the biggest EV manufacturer in the world—to access European markets, according to Kacir.
He claimed that discussions with Chinese officials since a December 2023 visit to China led to the agreement.
Prior to mentioning Turkey, China’s state-run Securities Times said that BYD had committed to constructing a plant for new energy vehicle core parts to supplement the capacity of its factory in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Turkish EV producer TOGG and Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group were reportedly in discussions over a potential joint production venture last week, according to a deputy chairman of the ruling AK Party in Turkey, who was speaking with Reuters.
This month, GAC’s top executives will travel to TOGG in Turkey, according to Zafer Sirakaya of the AK Party.
