BYD Confirms European Automakers Approach to Buy BEV CreditsBYD Confirms European Automakers Approach to Buy BEV Credits

European automakers are in talks with Chinese battery-electric-vehicle giant BYD to buy credits to avoid punitive fines for missing zero-emission-vehicle sales targets.

The legacy brands are desperate to avoid fines amounting to hundreds of millions of euros this year amid slowing consumer demand for BEVs, meaning they are certain to miss sales targets mandated by the European Union.

Now a spokesperson for BYD confirms it has been approached by several European carmakers to buy credits it has built up on its cheap BEV products.

BYD's special adviser for Europe, Alfredo Altavilla, tells Reuters, “We're in talks, we are well underway.”

Earlier this year automakers announced the creation of two "pools" of trading credits, one with BEV maker Tesla, Stellantis, Toyota, Ford, Mazda and Subaru, and another one between Germany's Mercedes, Polestar, Volvo Cars and Smart.

In this way, companies who miss BEV sales targets can pool their emissions with BEV market leaders, purchasing emissions credits from them to lower their overall averages and save them from EU fines.

A similar fate faces automakers trading in the U.K. Both Nissan and Ford have warned that vital funds for future vehicle R&D are having to be diverted to funding rivals in the BEV market.

The U.K. government is in discussions with automakers to modify its own BEV sales targets in the face of a manufacturer stampede for the exit.