The Chinese government has substantially stepped up its public relations activities in Turkey following the damage to its image caused by the collapse of manufacturer BYD’s planned investment in the country.
The Chinese electric vehicle company in June said they had paused work on a plant in Turkey while prioritising production in Europe.
BYD’s apparent change of course was a major embarrassment for the Turkish government. To attract the company, Ankara granted generous tax breaks on BYD vehicle sales in Turkey even before construction of the plant had begun.
Thanks to those incentives, combined with a new commercial strategy, BYD’s sales in Turkey surged to more than 45,000 vehicles in 2025.
Experts estimate that the company may already have earned between $500m and $1bn in additional profits from the Turkish market as a result of those tax advantages.
