Chinese electric car company BYD is growing fast in Türkiye. On April 5, BYD’s large ship, called BYD CHANGZHOU, arrived at Safiport in Kocaeli’s Derince district.
According to a statement from the company, The ship came all the way from Ningbo, China, carrying 7,000 electric cars. The journey took 39 days and shows how serious BYD is about its place in the Turkish car market.
This ship is special because it is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as regular fuel. This makes it better for the environment. The ship is 199.9 meters long and 38 meters wide. It weighs over 69,000 tons.
As it passed through the Çanakkale Strait and under the Osmangazi Bridge, people in Türkiye noticed it and shared pictures and videos on social media. Some even joked, “It’s raining BYD in Türkiye!”
BYD is not only bringing cars to Türkiye — it’s also building a factory here. In 2024, the company signed a $1 billion deal with the Turkish government. The factory will be in Manisa, and it should start working by 2026. It will be able to make up to 200,000 cars every year, including electric and hybrid cars. Many of these cars will also be sold in Europe.
This is an important move because Europe has a 17% tax on Chinese-made electric cars. But since Türkiye has a customs union agreement with the European Union, cars made in Türkiye can be sold in Europe without high taxes. This is why BYD and other Chinese companies are choosing Türkiye for production.
BYD is becoming more popular in Türkiye every month. In the first three months of 2025, it was the fastest-growing car brand in the country. People are choosing BYD because the cars are electric, modern, and more affordable than many other brands.
BYD has launched seven different models in Türkiye. These include the DOLPHIN, ATTO 3, SEAL U DM-i, SEAL U EV, HAN, SEAL AWD, and most recently, the TANG, which was released in March. A new version of the DOLPHIN, called the Comfort trim, will arrive in late April. BYD will also bring the SEALION 7 to Türkiye in the third quarter of this year.
But BYD is not just doing well in Türkiye. It is also leading globally. In 2023, it became the world’s number one seller of new energy vehicles (NEVs). These are cars that run on electricity or a mix of electricity and fuel.
That year, BYD sold over 4 million cars. The company hit a big milestone too — it reached 10 million total NEVs produced. The first 5 million took 15 years, but the next 5 million only took 15 months. That shows how fast the company is growing.
In the first quarter of 2025, BYD sold nearly 1 million cars worldwide. Out of these, over 416,000 were fully electric. This was a 39% increase compared to the same time last year.
BYD wants to sell more cars in Europe. Experts at S&P Global Mobility think BYD will sell 186,000 cars in Europe in 2025, up from 83,000 in 2024. By 2029, they believe the number could be close to 400,000 cars.
The factory in Manisa will help BYD reach these goals. It will support local sales in Türkiye and make it easier to export cars to Europe. Türkiye is quickly becoming an important hub for electric cars. Other Chinese companies like Chery are also planning to build factories here. Chery is in talks to build a plant in Samsun, a city in northern Türkiye.
