A CHINESE car giant has scrapped plans for a UK manufacturing plant due to high electricity prices.
This comes after the brand announced it would roll out 300 super-fast EV chargers across the UK.
BYD has abandoned plans to build a manufacturing plant in the UK, despite being the car giant’s biggest European customer.
This comes after executive vice-president Stella Li revealed that energy costs were too high to viably manufacture in the UK.
At the launch of its recent hybrid supermini, the Dolphin G plug-in, Li told The Independent: “To do manufacturing, I think the UK needs to reduce its electricity cost, it’s too expensive.”
Despite this, the Chinese brand hopes to utilise the engineering expertise the UK has to offer, and maintain a focus on research and development work here.
Earlier this week, BYD said it wanted to become the world’s biggest automaker in the next five years, already overtaking Tesla last year.
The announcement, made at a annual shareholder meeting, saw its chair Wang Chuanfu suggest it could overtake global rivals with its rapidly evolving battery technology.
BYD has witnessed significant growth in Britain, reporting a 113 per cent sales increase in the first half of 2026 and currently selling through 144 car dealers.
Following its success, the car giant announced it would install 300 super-fast EV chargers across the UK, with can power up motors in just five minutes.
Approximately every 31 miles across the UK hopes to have a BYD rapid charger by the end of the year.
Instead of British factories, BYD is venturing into the Hungarian manufacturing market, with its first models set to exit the production line at the end of the year.
By 2028, a broader range of BYD models and to enter the British market, such as a new YangWang luxury sportscar.
This will also include the highly anticipated Land Rover dupe, the BYD Ti7, with the seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV expected to be priced under £50,000.
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