Chinese electric carmaker BYD readies entry into Romanian market

BYD, a major carmaker of electric vehicles and a challenger to the US-based Tesla, is preparing to enter Romania and has already recruited a Romanian, Andrei Duică, to lead operations.

The company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, will have a representative office in Romania starting in April 2025, with 20 car dealerships and 7 electric and plug-in hybrid models available for sale. By the end of the year, the network will expand to 30 dealerships, with plans to reach 60 locations in the next three years, according to EV Market.

The first Romanian cities to have BYD showrooms will be Bucharest, Iași, Brașov, Timișoara, Cluj, Constanța, and Pitești.

BYD is entering Romania directly with its own importer, while other Chinese car brands such as MG rely on local partners. The carmaker will offer consumers models like the Dolphin Surf, the Sealion 7, and the Atto 2, vying for the market share of models such as Dacia Spring, Tesla Model Y, and Ford Puma.

The company has already recruited Andrei Duică to lead operations in Romania and Bulgaria as part of its entry into the local market. Duică was previously the Executive Director at Trust Motors, the importer of Peugeot, Citroën, and Opel.

"We are working on price positioning. The BYD Dolphin Surf is a competitor for the Dacia Spring. On the plug-in hybrid side, we have the BYD Seal-U DM-i and a model that will compete in the C-segment sedan category. All will be available on the Romanian market in 2025," he said.

In 2025, BYD expects to sell 5,000 electric and plug-in hybrid cars in Romania.

The company is currently building its first European factory in Szeged, Hungary.

(Photo source: Bennnn | Dreamstime.com)