ISTANBUL
Chinese carmaker BYD, which plans to build a factory in Türkiye, has been holding talks with auto part suppliers across the country, according to Albert Saydam, the president of the Automotive Suppliers’ Association (TAYSAD).
BYD’s planned production plant and R&D center is the first foreign investment in the Turkish automotive sector in 27 years.
Some information in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) application file the company submitted to Turkish authorities raised concerns that the Chinese carmaker won’t work with Turkish suppliers and that this investment’s contribution to the Turkish economy will be limited.
The EIA suggested that BYD would produce many car parts, including seats and pads, at the factory it will build in the western province of Manisa.
The EIA is part of the requirements needed for going ahead with the investment.
In July, BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle producer, signed an agreement with the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry to set up a factory and make R&D investments in Türkiye worth $1 billion.
However, Saydam dismissed such concerns, saying that BYD officials have been quietly holding talks with suppliers across Türkiye.
“Among them are local suppliers of seats, plastics, sheet metal, molds and tires. Contrary to speculation, they are looking for ways to work with companies in Türkiye,” Saydam said.
BYD officials are collecting information from local suppliers, making visits and looking for ways of working with them, he added.
They will talk to BYD’s top management in the coming days and organize a large meeting between the company and suppliers, Saydam said.
The construction phase of the project is planned to start in 2025 after the necessary permissions and approvals are obtained, and it will be completed by the end of the same year or the first quarter of 2026.
The installation of machinery and equipment at the plant is expected to start in the last quarter of 2025, and production is likely to commence by the first quarter of 2026.
According to the information contained in the EIA application, BYD Türkiye Otomotiv will produce 200,000 rechargeable hybrid and electric cars.
The planned project will employ an average of 2,500 people during the construction phase and 12,000 people in total in three shifts during the operation phase.
Earlier this month, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said that Türkiye is in close talks with Chinese automaker Chery on an automobile investment and has reached the final stages of the process.
