BYD could add a third battery-electric vehicle assembly plant in Europe, fearing its current facilities under construction may not be enough to meet expected demand.

In an interview with German news outlet Automobilwoche, the automaker’s executive vice president, Stella Li, says it is considering expanding vehicle knock-down kit assembly capacity within the next two years.

However, a separate spokesperson for BYD tells the Reuters news agency that the idea was speculative and would only come into consideration far into the future.

The company is already building one site in Szeged, Hungary, and another in Izmir, Turkey, which together will have the capacity to produce 500,000 cars a year.

Chinese BEV makers hope to sidestep comparatively modest European Union import tariffs on their products by establishing vehicle assembly plants.

However, the moves are drawing concern from some regulators over the proportion of components that are made outside the European economic bloc with the use of knock-down kits made in China.

Chinese automakers have been instructed by state ministry officials to only establish assembly plants using knock-down kits in European nations to protect their technology intellectual property.

Li says BYD’s Hungarian plant is on schedule and will start production at the end of 2025. The Turkish plant is expected to start production mid-2026.

While not naming a location for a possible third plant, she adds: “We are considering a third plant in Europe. We will make the decision on this in one-and-a-half to two years.”

The company’s sales are still at a fledgling stage with it best-selling model in Europe, the Atto 3, achieving 13,655 sales so far this year, according to Dataforce. The Seal U was next with 11,678 sales, followed by the Dolphin with 11,437 and the Seal with 10,578.