Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD is significantly revising its strategy for penetrating the European market. With initial results falling short of expectations due to a lack of local dealerships, limited understanding of the European market, and the limitations of a purely electric-focused approach, BYD is quickly moving to recruit talent from the European auto industry and introduce hybrid vehicles as part of its response.
BYD’s decision to increase its focus on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in Europe reportedly stems from strategic advice given by Alfredo Altavilla, the company’s Special Advisor for Europe. Altavilla is said to have told Chairman Wang Chuanfu that relying solely on electric vehicles would make it difficult to scale sales in the European market. Following this recommendation, BYD announced a shift in its regional strategy in December, placing greater emphasis on PHEVs.
Altavilla, who previously held top positions at Fiat-Chrysler and CVC Capital Partners, was brought on board by BYD in mid-2023. Since his appointment, he has played a key role in building out BYD’s European leadership team—reportedly recruiting several former Stellantis executives to lead operations in Germany, Italy, and Spain. A current BYD executive indicated that the company attracted this talent by offering highly competitive compensation packages and positioning the roles as significant growth opportunities.
According to current and former executives, BYD did not conduct sufficient market research before entering Europe, and its dealership network was limited to small operations centered around major cities. Several former executives pointed out that one of BYD’s fundamental missteps was misunderstanding Europe as a single, unified market. One former executive remarked that Europe consists of dozens of countries with different directions and characteristics, and that BYD is only now beginning to learn that.
