Chinese electric car giant BYD is considering setting up a second assembly plant in Europe in 2025, saying BYD will be the leading seller of electric cars in Europe by 2030.

BYD aims to overtake Volkswagen, Tesla and Stellantis to become the leading seller of electric cars in the European market by 2030, Michael Shu, general manager of BYD's European car sales division, said on Thursday (9 May) local time.

Shu said BYD was preparing for ‘huge investments in Europe’ that could reach billions of euros in factories, distribution networks and marketing.

He also said that shipping cars from China to Europe is not a long-term solution and will eventually transition to localised production in Europe. He revealed that BYD will introduce low-cost electric cars based on the Seagull model to the European market, which should sell for less than 20,000 euros (S$29,176).

In December last year, BYD had said it would build an electric car plant in Hungary, becoming the first major Chinese carmaker to have a production base in Europe.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday (May 6) that if Chinese electric car giant BYD decides to open a factory in France, France would be very welcoming.