Comment by solidsnack9000
10 hours ago
Ford actually makes vehicles in Europe. Does BYD?
If push comes to shove and Europe needs to part ways with the USA, to greater or lesser degree, there will still be machinists, mechanics, and actual facilities in place to keep making Fords. That is a positive from the standpoint of European sovereignty.
The EU probably has rules in place to strongly encourage US manufacturers of automobiles to put facilities in the EU. The US has similar rules and many Toyotas, Hondas, &c, are made in the US, using US suppliers for parts.
It's not hard to imagine an approach to digital services that trends in a similar direction. In the EU or Canada, the US parent company would supply technical data, software, specifications, &c, to a domestic company with its own facilities and operations. It probably requires a combination of regulations and regular stress tests; but nothing prevents the domestic company's operations from being as de facto severable as a car factory.
> Ford actually makes vehicles in Europe. Does BYD?
Not yet. They are in the process of opening a factory in Hungary. The production line equipment arrived in December, with trial production scheduled for Q1 2026, and mass production in Q2, with capacity ramping up over two years.
They are also doing a factory in Turkey.
Their plan is for all of the EVs they sell in Europe to be made in the EU by 2028.
They aren't the only Chinese car maker interested in producing in Europe. Chery is building a big plant in Spain. Geely is looking at options in Poland or Hungary but hasn't decided on a site yet. SAIC is planning to make cars in Hungary.
Ford is American, BYD is not. That is enough for me.
This might be less about sovereignty for you, then.