Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has announced ambitious plans to become the world's largest automaker within five years, driven by massive investments in European infrastructure and rapid technology advancements.
The company intends to spend nearly £1.8 billion in Europe to build five-minute "flash charging" infrastructure, following its achievement of overtaking Tesla last year as the top EV manufacturer by sales volume.
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Global expansion remains rapid, with international sales reaching more than 160,000 vehicles in May, an 80 percent increase from the previous year.
BYD targets 1.5 million overseas sales this year.
The expansion poses a massive challenge to established legacy carmakers.
Toyota retained its global sales crown in 2025 by selling 11.3 million vehicles, compared to BYD's 4.8 million units.
"BYD will truly become the number one automaker globally in terms of scale in five years," said Wang Chuanfu, Founder and Chair of BYD, during the annual shareholder meeting in Shenzhen.
European Manufacturing Focus
"Hungary is the number one priority right now," said Stella Li, Top International Executive of BYD, during a press briefing in London.
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Assembly operations at the new Hungarian facility will commence during the fourth quarter of this year.
"The second priority will be to focus on finding a second [production] facility in Europe," Li added.
Operational focus shifted to the European Union to mitigate import tariffs implemented by Brussels two years ago, prompting BYD to pause construction activities on a planned facility in Turkey.
The rapid construction of the facility in Szeged, Hungary, has triggered local pushback, including official sanctions and financial penalties against three involved construction firms following allegations of European Union labor law violations.
Local agricultural authorities also ordered the destruction of surrounding crops after complaints emerged that excavated soil from the factory construction zone had been dumped on nearby farmland, creating potential contamination risks.
Geopolitical pressure intensified when the United States Department of Defense added BYD to a designation list of Chinese military companies operating in America, citing potential national security concerns.
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China responded on Wednesday by saying it believed its addition to the US list "lacks factual basis."
