BYD has made a strategic move to strengthen its claim in the European market. The company, which plans to establish a factory in Turkey with an investment of approximately 1 billion dollars, has recruited Alfredo Altavilla, former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Europe President and Tofaş CEO. Altavilla is planned to be a special advisor for the European market.

Fiat Chrysler executive Alfredo Altavilla to become BYD advisor

In line with its growth targets in Europe, BYD aims to increase its local production capacity by building factories in Turkey and Hungary. However, the European Union’s new electric vehicle taxes and the slowdown in sales disrupted the company’s plans. In this context, the company started to recruit important names to produce special solutions for Europe.

The company has ambitious targets in Europe. BYD Europe CEO Michael Shu announced earlier this year before the opening of the factory in Hungary that they were targeting 5 percent of the European electric vehicle market.

Alfredo Altavilla was CEO of Iveco and Tofaş after serving in various management positions at Fiat. After leaving Fiat Chrysler, he held management and consultancy positions in different companies. BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li believes Altavilla will play a key role in achieving these goals.

To increase its competitiveness in the European market, BYD is adding a rechargeable hybrid engine option to the Seal U model, which is not subject to electric vehicle taxation. The company has rapidly increased its sales in Europe over the past two years and managed to climb into the top 20 in Europe in July.