The EU wants to make it easier to exclude companies from outside the Community from tenders. They are unlikely to get rid of BYD.
On September 11, 2026, the European Commission unveiled a draft reform of public procurement law aimed at making it easier to exclude companies from outside the EU from tenders. This applies particularly to electric buses, chargers for public transportation, and vehicles for municipal fleets. For EV drivers and the industry, this is a clear signal: the Union wants to spend public money in a more European way, but in practice, production location and component origin play a crucial role.
The Commission explicitly calls for simplifying rules and giving greater weight to strategic criteria when selecting bids. The draft includes something akin to an “EU preference,” a legal option that would allow buyers to give greater priority to supply security, industrial resilience, and fair competition within the EU. This would not be a requirement but rather a tool to use in tenders.
This makes a big difference, because even the lowest price alone doesn’t always win these days. A good example is Deutsche Bahn, which when placing large orders for buses considered not only the purchase cost but also energy consumption, maintenance, quality, production location, service network, and the social responsibility of suppliers. As a result, BYD received only 5 percent of the orders, while most went to MAN.
Commissioner targets Chinese buses, but the example is flawed
Industrial Strategy Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné made a strong statement: “After this reform is implemented, it won’t be the fault of the European commissioner if there are BYD buses in Berlin.” The quote gained widespread attention because it has political overtones and is aimed at Chinese competitors.
It was most likely referring to the high-profile order in December 2025, when Deutsche Bahn purchased 200 BYD electric buses. There was considerable tension in Germany at that time. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil even spoke of greater “localization patriotism,” and he was personally annoyed by the decision.
Séjourné added a broader argument. As cited by BZ, government procurement is a “strategic lever” that China, India, the U.S., and all major powers use as part of their economic policies. The commission therefore wants to create a list of countries to be treated on equal terms with the EU if they open their tenders to companies from the Union. The UK and the U.S. are set to be on this list, but not China.
BYD produces buses in Hungary, and that’s where the real test begins
The political message is simple, but the reality isn’t. BYD has been producing buses for Europe since 2017 in Komárom, Hungary, which is within the EU. The factory has created hundreds of jobs there, mostly for Union citizens. The approximately 200 intercity buses for Deutsche Bahn mentioned are also set to be produced there.
And this is where things get interesting. “Chinese manufacturer” and “vehicle produced in China” are not the same thing. It is BYD’s Hungarian subsidiary that regularly enters bids, not a company importing finished buses from China. This is bad news for simplistic political slogans.
Therefore, the proposal does not mean such offers will be automatically excluded from tenders. As it stands now, the origin of the product under EU customs rules will determine its eligibility. If a bus built in Hungary is considered an EU product, the way is open. Additionally, buyers are supposed to have the option to include a requirement for components from the EU.
On paper, Brussels wants fewer Chinese products in tenders, but the first major test might show the opposite: a Chinese brand with a factory in the EU will still be hard to displace. In your opinion, how should “Europeanness” be measured in such a tender—by the brand, by the factory, or by the proportion of EU components?
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