Chinese automakers scour Europe for factories ahead of EU local content rules, says BYD adviser

TURIN, Sept 17 (Reuters) - As Chinese automakers search Europe for production sites ahead of expected EU local content rules, BYD's European adviser says he's always running into rivals' executives in airport lounges on the same quest.

They are focused on scouting existing car assembly plants that would enable Chinese automakers to start production far more quickly than building a new factory from scratch, Alfredo Altavilla told Reuters.

Spain and France remain the "most actionable" options for BYD, China's biggest electric vehicle maker, as they boast "decidedly simpler situations," he said. The top consideration is how much it would cost to refurbish the selected site.

"We have to find something to buy now and restore it with relatively little money... quickly," Altavilla said late on Wednesday at the opening of a new dealership for BYD's premium Denza brand in Turin, Italy.

"I'm constantly visiting factories all over Europe," he said, adding that after the event he was taking a late flight "to England to see another one".

"We have a very large team that keeps conducting feasibility studies for all the facilities we are considering," he said, acknowledging that rivals are on the same task.

"In airports we all bump into each other," Altavilla said.

LOCAL CONTENT RULES

Chinese manufacturers have already struck several deals to share production lines at underutilised European plants owned by legacy automakers, including Leapmotor and Dongfeng with Stellantis, in Spain and France respectively and Geely with Ford in Spain. Chery has teamed up with a local partner top take over an old Nissan plant in Spain.

Now they are engaged in a broader push to establish manufacturing footprints inside the European Union as Brussels works on 'Made in Europe' rules that will set minimum local content limits for electric vehicles sold in the bloc. They are still being drawn up but they are expected to be introduced as soon as next year.

Unlike its Chinese rivals, BYD wants to buy, fully own and refurbish an existing factory to accelerate localized production.

BYD is currently in the initial stage of production at its first European passenger car plant, in Hungary, and expects to select the site for a second European facility by the end of the year, Altavilla said.

Looking further ahead, he said BYD would eventually need "three assembly plants and one battery plant" in Europe to support its growth ambitions and meet EU rules.

As well as Spain and France, other countries are still under consideration for BYD, Altavilla said. Italy, however, has become a "plan B" because Stellantis, the country's sole major automaker, is unwilling to sell any plants, he said.

"I cannot buy something that is not for sale," he said.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Susan Fenton)