[PARIS] BYD said that it’s planning to go on a hiring spree in Europe and increase its workforce there to about 40,000 people by the end of the decade as the Chinese automotive giant seeks to evolve from a simple exporter to a major car producer in the region.

“BYD’s commitment in Europe is very deep, and it is long term,” executive vice-president Stella Li, who heads the company’s overseas business, said in an interview at the Paris Motor Show with Bloomberg TV on Monday (Oct 12).

Asked specifically about BYD’s European employment plans, Li said separately that its workforce there would be “absolutely over 40,000 in 2030”. The company will soon have more than 10,000, she added.

That would make BYD one of the biggest non-European automotive employers in the region. The company, the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles, is deepening its investments there as Chinese exporters face increasing scrutiny from European authorities.

BYD plans to recruit from the auto industry and beyond, including workers potentially laid off by European companies, she informed.

Talks between China and the EU last week ended with a broad agreement that included curbs on the number of hybrid vehicles that would be imported from the Asian country. BYD is still assessing the implications of the EU’s new restrictions as the company didn’t yet have sufficient details, Li said.

Meanwhile, the Shenzhen-based company is in the final stages of preparations for its first European factory, located in Hungary, aiming for mass production to begin in the fourth quarter, she noted. Then the company will probably build its next couple of factories elsewhere in the region, with France and Spain being on the shortlist, Li added. BLOOMBERG