Hong Kong CNN —China’s BYD, which vies with Tesla for the title of the world’s top maker of battery electric vehicles, has agreed to build a $1 billion car factory in Turkey, the Turkish government has announced. “We aim to meet the growing demand for new-energy vehicles in the region and reach consumers in Europe,” the statement cited BYD representatives as saying. The EU’s decision earlier this year imposed an extra 17.4% tariff on the vehicles BYD ships from China to the bloc, which also has a standard 10% duty on all car imports. Talks between the EU and China are expected to continue but, if no agreement is reached, the additional tariffs will become definitive in November. BYD already announced in December that it would build an EV factory in EU member Hungary, becoming the first major Chinese automaker to build passenger cars in Europe.

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Persons: China’s, Tesla, Wang Chuanfu, Mehmet Fatih Kaci, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, BYD, hasn’t Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Turkey’s Industry, Technology, European Union, EU, CNN Locations: Hong Kong, Turkey, Istanbul, Europe, China, Hungary