BYD said it is evaluating the feasibility of building a passenger car plant in Europe and is looking for a suitable location.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) said it is evaluating the feasibility of building a passenger car plant in Europe after a report earlier today generated widespread discussion.

The Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) giant wants to build a plant in Europe, and France is among the countries it's considering, with Spain and Germany also in the running, according to a report in French media outlet Les Echos today.

"Discussions with BYD are continuing," the report said, citing an unnamed French minister.

BYD is evaluating the feasibility of building a passenger car plant in Europe and is looking for a suitable location, the company said in a response shared with CnEVPost.

This is not the first time BYD has been reported to be looking to build a passenger car plant in Europe, as the NEV giant ramps up its efforts to expand in international markets.

Last December 7, Bloomberg cited BYD executive vice president Stella Li as saying that BYD was looking to build a passenger car plant in Europe.

"Yes, and maybe not only one, it can be two," Li said at the time, adding that the company was evaluating the best locations to support BYD's fast ramp-up.

In a March 12 interview with the Financial Times, BYD European president Michael Shu said the company was looking at both new sites and existing plants, with the first European plant likely to be located in Germany, France, Spain, Poland and Hungary.

A decision is likely this year, with the aim of producing its first vehicles as early as 2025, according to the report.

BYD established its first overseas branch in the Netherlands in 1998 to expand into the European market.

Its European branch has expanded its business from batteries to solar energy, energy storage and NEVs, with an operational footprint of more than 20 countries and 100 cities across Europe, according to information shared by the company at the end of September last year.

Notably, BYD had not previously promoted its passenger car business hard in Europe until September 28 last year, when it introduced three battery electric vehicles (BEVs) -- the Atto 3, Han, and Tang -- to the European market at an online launch event.

In April this year, BYD held a launch event in Barcelona, Spain, announcing that Dolphin and Seal will enter the European market in 2023.

The Dolphin will be available for pre-sale this summer, with deliveries in the fourth quarter, and the Seal will be available in Europe shortly thereafter, BYD said at the time.

The two models will be BYD's new batch of all-electric models in Europe, following the launch of the Han, Tang and ATTO 3 in Europe last year, and are the first BYD Ocean series models to be launched for the European market.

BYD sold 210,295 NEVs in April, up 98.31 percent year-on-year and up 1.55 percent from March.

In April, BYD sold 14,827 NEVs in overseas markets, up 11.38 percent from 13,312 units in March.

BYD Dolphin, Seal to be available in Europe this year