Construction equipment has moved onto the planned site of Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD’s factory in western Turkey, in the first public signs of work on the ground since Ankara announced the $1 billion investment deal in July 2024, the Karar daily reported on Wednesday.
Images shared on social media by Turkish auto industry commentator İsmail Bayramoğlu showed excavation activity and heavy machinery operating on land in the Manisa Organized Industrial Zone, where the plant is expected to be built.
BYD has not announced a groundbreaking ceremony, and there was no immediate public comment from BYD Turkey about the new footage.
Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology said in July 2024 that BYD had agreed to build an electric and plug-in hybrid car production facility with annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and a research and development center, with production planned to start by the end of 2026. The ministry said the investment could create up to 5,000 jobs.
The Manisa site is near the Aegean city of İzmir, in a region with a large industrial base and established automotive supply chains.
The July 2024 agreement drew attention across Europe because it came days after the EU raised tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. Turkey’s customs union with the European Union could help manufacturers producing in Turkey sell into the bloc more easily than exporters shipping finished cars from China, Turkish officials said at the time.
Karar said the facility is expected to include battery production along with vehicle manufacturing, but that detail was not confirmed in the Turkish government announcements on the deal.
Industry media in December reported that BYD’s Szeged plant in Hungary was preparing for trial production in the first quarter of 2026, with full production expected in the second quarter.
Observers say the end of 2026 target for starting production at BYD’s planned Manisa plant now looks difficult to meet because construction appears to have started late.