In July 2024, BYD signed a $1B deal to build an electric vehicle factory in Manisa, Türkiye. The project promised 150,000 vehicles per year, roughly 5,000 jobs, and a clever workaround for EU tariffs on Chinese-made cars.
Eighteen months later, the construction site remains untouched. No foundation. No equipment. No workers. BYD has effectively shelved the Turkish project and is redirecting its European production strategy toward its facility in Szeged, Hungary.
A factory that never broke ground
The Manisa plant was announced with considerable fanfare. BYD, the world’s leading battery electric vehicle manufacturer, chose Türkiye for a reason that made strategic sense on paper: the country’s customs union with the European Union. Vehicles manufactured in Türkiye could theoretically enter EU markets without the punishing tariffs that Brussels has been slapping on Chinese-made EVs.
By early 2026, parliamentary scrutiny in Türkiye had intensified around the dormant project. Lawmakers began asking uncomfortable questions about why a billion-dollar investment had produced zero visible progress. Industry insiders pointed to a suspension of investment activity, though BYD itself stayed conspicuously quiet on the matter. As of the latest reports, no formal cancellation announcement has been made by BYD regarding the Turkish plant.
