BYD has suspended its planned $1 billion electric vehicle plant in Turkey, according to a report by Salaam Gateway, and is redirecting its European manufacturing push toward Hungary.

The suspension halts one of the largest single Chinese automotive investments announced for the Turkish market. The $1 billion program, unveiled with considerable fanfare, had positioned Turkey as a prospective manufacturing hub for BYD's expanding EV lineup serving both the domestic market and surrounding regions.

Instead, the Chinese automaker is now prioritizing its Hungarian operations as its primary European production base. Hungary offers BYD something Turkey cannot: membership in the European Union and tariff-free access to the bloc's single market — a consideration that has grown in importance as the EU has moved to impose countervailing duties on China-built EVs.

For Turkey, the suspension represents a setback in its effort to attract large-scale EV manufacturing investment. Ankara had courted BYD aggressively, offering incentive packages designed to convert the country's established vehicle-production base — home to plants operated by Ford, Toyota, Hyundai and Stellantis partners — into a hub for next-generation drivetrains.

The pivot to Hungary also signals how EU trade policy is reshaping siting decisions for Chinese OEMs. Building inside the EU's customs union neutralizes the tariff exposure that applies to vehicles exported from Turkey, however attractive Turkey's labor costs, supplier base and customs-union arrangement with the EU may otherwise be.

Details of the suspension — including whether it is a formal cancellation or an indefinite pause, and what timeline, if any, BYD has set for any revival — were not disclosed in the report. The company has not publicly detailed capacity figures or job numbers attached to the Turkish project beyond the headline $1 billion investment value.

What to watch next: confirmation from BYD on whether the Turkey project is paused or dead; the ramp schedule and capacity milestones at the Hungarian plant; and whether Ankara responds with revised incentives or turns to other Chinese OEMs to fill the gap.