BYD in Midst of Unmatched Flurry of Product Launches in Europe
Europe has, of course, put high tariffs on electric cars built in China. One way around that for Chinese automakers is going to be setting up factories in Europe. BYD has a new factory in Hungary already, and the company is reportedly prepping for a flurry of product launches. Already, BYD is in the midst of what it thinks is an unmatched flurry of product launches in Europe.
According to Autocar, BYD “believes it is about to introduce more models more quickly than any car company ever has before.” The company is currently the largest pure electric vehicle (BEV) seller in the world. Most of those sales take place in China, but more and more, the company is bringing models to new markets and ramping up sales in foreign markets.
BYD just launched the Dolphin Surf in the UK. The initial units of the Surf are coming from China, but they will be produced at the company’s Hungary factory soon. At the launch event, “Alfredo Altavilla, BYD’s special advisor for Europe (and former COO at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and chairman of ITA Airways) said: ‘I have zero problem in saying I don’t think there has ever been such a product offensive done in Europe as the one that BYD is doing. We have been launching six cars in less than a year. We are covering all of the most important segments of the European car market and the Dolphin Surf was the missing piece in the A/B-segment.'”
So, a lot of cars have already hit the European market, but more are coming. It apparently takes a lot of work to modify models to meet European market preferences. As a result, the Surf is arriving in Europe 18 months after deliveries commenced in China and South America.
“We’re going to get together again after the summer break for another important reveal, and through the end of the year, there will be others. All this is fundamentally building the image of a brand where technology never stops, and this is allowing a set of new cars to be available in Europe in really no time,” Altavilla added. “As we go forward into 2026, more and more of the BYD line-up will be specific to this region and this is a big step forward compared to the other Asian brands,” he also said. “BYD top management has clearly seen that if you want to play big in Europe, you have to have a dedicated product line-up and this is what we will have.”
Of course, there’s the BYD brand, but there’s also BYD’s Denza brand (luxury vehicles like Mercedes and BMW offer) and BYD’s Yangwang brand (high-tech cars). Those brands get new premium features and tech before the BYD brand in order to make them more exclusive and higher class/cost.
BYD is still a niche player in Europe. Many assume that’s how it will stay forever, especially because of domestic brand loyalty in Europe. But BYD has other plans. “With the technology we have, coupled with the localisation of the production of the most important cars, we have everything we need to be one of the key players,” Altavilla added. “Whether it’s number one, one of the big three, one of the big five, it doesn’t matter, but [BYD will be] one of the big players in the region.”
Sign up for CleanTechnica's Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott's in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and follow us on Google News!
Whether you have solar power or not, please complete our latest solar power survey.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one on top stories of the week if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica's Comment Policy
