BYD's European Reset: Turkey Plant Shelved, Factory Acquisitions Accelerated as Stock Tests Support
12.06.2026 - 22:31:30 | boerse-global.de
The road to becoming the world's largest automaker was never going to be smooth, but BYD is navigating an increasingly rocky stretch. Chairman Wang Chuanfu has set a five-year horizon to overtake Toyota, yet the stock has tumbled 37% over the past twelve months, hitting a fresh year low of €9.25 before a modest recovery on Friday pushed the shares back to €9.56, a gain of 0.85%. The disconnect between operational ambition and market sentiment has rarely been wider.
At the heart of the near-term turbulence lies a strategic overhaul of BYD's European production plans. The company has pulled the plug on its much-touted €1 billion factory in Turkey's Manisa province, where construction had barely broken ground. Vice-President Stella Li confirmed the temporary suspension after the Turkish government withdrew tax exemptions and demanded BYD either implement the promised investment or repay incentives already received. Local sales have cratered as a result — only 152 BYD cars were registered in Turkey in May.
The priority now shifts squarely to BYD's first dedicated European passenger-car plant in Szeged, Hungary, where production is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. But the Chinese group is also rewriting its expansion playbook: instead of building new factories from scratch, management now wants to buy existing facilities. Talks are underway for a second European production site in Southern Europe, with Spain emerging as a strong candidate. This acquisition-led approach is designed to bypass the new EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles more quickly.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying BYD?
On the technology front, BYD is pouring €2 billion into a European charging network, targeting 3,000 ultra-fast stations by year-end that can replenish batteries in roughly five minutes. Yet that push is being undermined by production problems with the second generation of its proprietary Blade battery. Wang Chuanfu warned shareholders at the annual meeting that technical glitches are preventing mass production, creating a bottleneck for global growth.
Despite these headwinds, BYD's overseas delivery target for the current year stands at 1.5 million vehicles, a sharp increase from roughly one million in the previous year. The company already leads the global EV market and is betting that international expansion will close the gap with Toyota in overall production volumes.
Technical indicators suggest the selling pressure has been intense. The Relative Strength Index has fallen to 35, deep in bearish territory, and the stock trades well below its 50-day moving average of €10.85. On a monthly basis, the shares have lost around 13%. However, the rebound from the €9.25 support level — a new year low — could provide a platform for a short-term bounce if that floor holds. Any further breakdown would open the door to fresh lows, leaving BYD's grand ambition hanging on a knife's edge.
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