Trends, Tips & Tricks

Year of publication: 2026

BYD is based in China and is the world’s largest manufacturer of electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Its goal is to produce all electric cars sold in Europe locally within three years and thus avoid potential EU tariffs. Plants in Hungary and Turkey are already under construction. Spain is being discussed as a location for a third plant*. Vehicles from the Chinese brands GAC and XPeng are already rolling off the production line at the contract manufacturer MAGNA Steyr in Graz, Austria. Local suppliers are also involved in car production in Europe. 

However, almost all products from European suppliers must comply with the GB standard (Guobiao) of the Standardisation Administration of the People’s Republic of China. This also applies to operating equipment. From 1 October 2025, all coolants for use in lithium-ion batteries for electric cars from BYD and other manufacturers must comply with the new standard GB 29743.2-2025. Above all, this requires an extremely low electrical conductivity of less than 100 μS/cm (microsiemens) as well as a permissible increase to 300 μS/cm over the course of use. The stricter standard is intended to significantly reduce the risk of short circuits and thermal runaway.

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