China's BYD expects to swiftly lift sales in Germany, executive tells FAS

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Chinese electric carmaker BYD expects to boost sales in Germany within six months, executive vice president Stella Li said in an interview published on Saturday.

BYD would gain a foothold in Germany in "less than half a year," Li told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) newspaper.

She criticised European Union tariffs on China-made electric vehicles (EVs) from next month, which Germany had opposed, as a loss for the consumer, adding BYD would start producing cars by the end of 2025 in Hungary.

"I think we will become an important market participant here in Europe," she told FAS ahead of the Paris Motor Show, which starts on Oct. 14.

German sales teams were being expanded to work on winning over consumer trust as the company's strategy was to establish its presence for the long-term, Li said.

She declined to comment on sales targets but indicated that prices would be in a range between 25,000 euros ($27,342) and 30,000 euros each.

"We are still working on our plan," she said.

Li said in her opinion European carmakers were not competitive because they lacked certainty of a consistent EV policy and were trying to shut out healthy competition.

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(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Mike Harrison)