Filenews 15 April 2025 - by Charalambos Zakos
BYD, the Chinese automaker, which surpassed Tesla in sales in 2024 and is known for the technologically advanced electric cars it produces, is also coming to Cyprus.
Specifically, as announced yesterday, BYD has appointed Alpan Group, a member of the Sfakianakis Group, as its official distributor in Cyprus, which is expected to operate the delegation on the island in the near future.
It should be noted that Alpan Group is the exclusive importer and distributor of Samsung mobile phones as well as Kenwood, DeLonghi, Braun and Sage small devices throughout Cyprus.
The Group, through Electroline, holds a leading position in the Cypriot market with 9 electrical stores, while with Samsung it holds a share of 45% of the total mobile phone market. Also, from the end of 2023, the Group through Executive Lease began to be active in the field of long-term car rentals. As of October 2024, Alpan Group is a 100% subsidiary of Sfakianakis S.A. and is now consolidated into the Sfakianakis Group.
The Sfakianakis Group is one of the largest Commercial Groups operating in Greece, while it has significant activity in 14 countries of South-Eastern and Central Europe with a Consolidated Turnover of 700 million euros for 2024.
The President and CEO of Alpan Group and Sfakianakis Group, in a statement, expressed pride in the expansion of BYD's cooperation in Cyprus, adding that their strategy is to play a central role in the transition to electromobility and to offer Cypriot consumers advanced and sustainable mobility solutions.
The company that surpassed Tesla
BYD was founded in 1994 in Shenzhen by Wang Chuanfu, as a battery manufacturing company. Today, with factories in Europe, Latin America and Asia, the company is one of the leading manufacturers of electric and plug-in hybrid cars. It has a presence on six continents, in more than 100 countries and regions, with its cars located in over 400 cities.
The company in 2024 had sold about 4.27 million vehicles, an increase of 29% compared to 2023, with its revenue reaching $107 billion, surpassing Tesla which had sales of $97.7 billion.
In fact, according to estimates, BYD will sell more than 5.5 million cars in 2025, while about 800,000 of them will be available in markets outside China.
Opening a factory in Europe
In 2003, BYD Auto, a subsidiary of BYD, was founded, which proceeds with the construction of the company's first factory in Europe, in order to avoid the tariffs imposed by the European Union on the company's cars produced outside Europe.
It is recalled that for imports of BYD cars manufactured outside the EU, tariffs of 27% currently apply (10% applicable to all imports and an additional 17% applicable to this brand).
The first factory is expected to operate in Hungary within 2025, while there are thoughts that the company will build a second factory.
