May 13 (Reuters) - BYD is negotiating with Stellantis and other European car makers to take over underused factories in the region, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing the Chinese company's top international executive.
The world's largest electric-vehicle seller is discussing potential deals to take on plants in countries such as Italy, BYD's Executive Vice President Stella Li told Bloomberg in an interview.
BYD prefers to operate the plants on its own rather than joint ventures, Li added,
according to the report.
"It's very hard to partner and ask permission from another person. We prefer to run everything on our own. We partner with every auto manufacturer to either sell the battery to them or work with them for different aspects... but not manufacturing," Li said at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference in London.
Li's comments come a few days after Stellantis and China's Leapmotor announced a plan to start joint car production in Europe.
BYD is benefiting from the renewed interest in EVs since fuel prices spiked in the wake of the Middle East conflict. The company has been aggressively expanding abroad, with its sales soaring in Europe, after pressure from a price war in China.
Stellantis declined to comment on a Reuters request. The company has reiterated in prior instances that it does not comment on speculations and that it holds discussions with a range of industry players as part of its normal course of business.
BYD did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
(Reporting by Sherin Sunny and Mihika Sharma in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Nick Carey in London; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Leroy Leo)
