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Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has not suspended its planned factory investment in Türkiye and that talks with the Industry and Technology Ministry are continuing, rejecting recent claims of a pause in the process.
"There is no problem. Our industry ministry is monitoring the process, and they are in talks," Bolat told BloombergHT in response to a question at the Türkiye–China Business Conference. "BYD officials were also here this week."
An investment agreement between BYD and Türkiye’s Industry and Technology Ministry was signed in July 2024 to establish the company’s production operations in the western province of Manisa.
The deal sets out a planned investment of about $1 billion for an electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle production facility with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles, along with a research and development center focused on sustainable mobility technologies.
The facility is targeted to begin production by the end of 2026 and is expected to provide up to 5,000 direct jobs. However, some local media reports have alleged that the Chinese company is deliberately slowing the process while benefiting from an exemption from additional customs duties granted under the deal, which places it within the domestic producer framework.
In 2025, BYD ranked first among electric car brands in Türkiye, selling 45,537 vehicles and accounting for about a 24% share of total electric vehicle sales of 191,960.
The Türkiye–China Business Conference was held on Saturday and organized jointly by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye, the Turkish Industry and Business Association, and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
The event brought together 150 representatives from the Turkish business community and 80 representatives from Chinese companies and institutions.
During the forum, officials from both sides addressed bilateral trade ties between Türkiye and China, with discussions focusing on trade volume, investment flows, and efforts to build a more balanced trade structure.
Both countries have a rapidly growing bilateral trade volume that rose to $52.84 billion. The balance of trade is heavily in favor of China, with Türkiye’s imports totaling $49.57 billion and exports at $3.27 billion. This results in a trade deficit of $46.3 billion for Türkiye, equal to roughly half of the country’s overall $92 billion trade deficit.
A total of 1,419 Chinese companies operate in Türkiye with combined investments of $3.2 billion, while approximately 1,465 Turkish companies operate in China with investments of about $175 million.
Speaking at the event, Bolat also addressed these figures and urged efforts to improve balance in trade and investment flows between the two countries.
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