Chinese EV giant BYD said on Wednesday that it is planning to roll out the first Pakistan-assembled car by July or August 2026. The company said that it seeks to meet the rising demand for plug‑in hybrid cars and EVs in this region. BYD, which leads global EV sales, has been expanding quickly beyond China, where fierce price competition has cut margins. Its new assembly plant near Karachi is a joint venture with Mega Motor Company, part of Pakistani utility Hub Power. The plant has been under construction since April. Danish Khaliq, BYD Pakistan’s sales and strategy VP, told Reuters the facility will begin the assembly of imported parts along with the production of non-electric parts locally. BYD’s Pakistan plant will produce 25k vehicles per year Khaliq mentioned that BYD’s plant will initially produce around 25,000 vehicles per year on a schedule with two shifts. He did not specify when output might rise to full capacity or when the company will actually begin its mass production. At first, all cars will serve Pakistan’s domestic market, but if the market and freight costs allow, BYD may export right‑hand‑drive models to neighboring countries. “We do not foresee excess capacity in our system as demand in Pakistan will catch up,” Khaliq said, adding that deliveries of imported BYD EVs began in March. He declined to give a precise sales figure, but noted that sales of several hundred cars have already exceeded BYD’s internal targets by about 30%. Khaliq predicts that total sales of EVs and plug‑in hybrids in Pakistan will rise 3x to 4x in 2025, up from roughly 1,000 units sold in 2024. He said BYD aims to capture 30–35% of that market segment. According to a filing by Hub Power, BYD Pakistan logged a profit of 444 million rupees (US$1.56 million) in the quarter ending March 2025. Later this week, BYD will introduce the Shark 6 plug‑in hybrid pickup truck in the country. Local buyers already can choose a PHEV SUV from China’s MG, while rival automaker Haval is preparing to enter the segment. Plug‑in hybrids are seen as more practical for Pakistani drivers, since the country has few public charging stations. To boost EV use, Pakistan’s government cut power tariffs for EV chargers in January by 45 percent, encouraging private operators to install charging points. BYD to slow down production in Hungary for the next 2 years In a similar move, BYD said that it will be delaying its mass production at its new electric‑vehicle factory in Szeged, southern Hungary, until 2026 and run the plant below its capacity for the first two years, at least. The 4 billion‑euro facility, which BYD said would open this October, has an initial capacity of 150k vehicles a year and could eventually reach 300,000 units. Those sources said only a few tens of thousands of cars will roll off the Hungarian assembly line in 2026, far below full capacity. Production is slated to rise in 2027. However, it may still fall short of plans. Another source confirmed that the start would be slow. BYD has not publicly stated a date for mass production in Hungary. Meanwhile, BYD will begin making cars sooner at another plant in Turkey with lower labor costs. The company plans to exceed its earlier production targets there. This shift of output from Hungary to Turkey may disappoint the EU, which imposed tariffs on Chinese EVs partly to spur Chinese investment and create well‑paid factory jobs in the bloc. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
