BYD will start producing vehicles at its new Hungary plant in the fourth quarter of 2026, while its planned factory in Turkey has been put on hold.

Executive vice president Stella Li told Reuters that equipment is still being installed at the company’s site in Szeged, southern Hungary, which is set to be BYD’s first manufacturing facility in Europe.

The production launch is about a year later than previously expected.

In September 2025, Li had said the plant would begin making the Dolphin Surf compact electric car by the end of 2025.

BYD and Chinese carmaker Chery have both faced delays to their European manufacturing plans.

Chery has also pushed back the start of production at its Barcelona plant several times, though it has said its joint venture with Spanish carmaker Ebro will start building vehicles in 2026.

"Hungary is the number one priority right now. The second priority will be to focus on finding a second (production) facility in Europe”, Li told Reuters at BYD's UK headquarters in west London.

Li said BYD has not begun construction of its planned Turkey factory, despite announcing in 2024 that it would invest $1bn in the site and start production in 2026.

She said the project is currently on hold and that BYD has no timeline for the start of production there.

According to the report, producing vehicles in Europe would help BYD avoid European Union tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

The Hungary plant remains the company’s main production focus in Europe as it expands its manufacturing presence in the region.

Earlier this month, BYD posted its first monthly year-on-year sales rise in nine months in May 2026, helped by ongoing growth in international markets.

The company reported sales of 383,453 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in May, up 0.3% from 382,476 units in the same month a year earlier.

Vehicle production totalled 380,549 units in the month, compared with 349,824 units in May 2025.