The BYD Shenzhen prepares in April for its maiden voyage, which is to take it from Suzhou, China, to Brazil by late May: The world's largest car carrier is BYD's fourth ship and can deliver 9,200 vehicles at a time to overseas markets. © AP

Chinese automakers reach crossroads after conquering export markets

In echo of Japan, offshore production set to increasingly drive foreign sales

CISSY ZHOU

May 3, 2025 06:00 JST

HONG KONG -- Facing a surge of Chinese imports driving up its trade deficit, Turkey last June announced a 40% supplementary tariff on new vehicles coming from China.

A month later, BYD, China's biggest maker of electric and hybrid vehicles, announced it would build a $1 billion factory in Turkey, with production to begin by the end of 2026. The move won BYD an exemption from the country's new tariff on imports in the interim as well as the promise of duty-free access to EU markets for the new factory's future output via Turkey's customs union with the bloc.