A brutal price war between automakers and millions of dollars worth of government subsidies fuelled a record boom in sales of EVs in China last year

Brazilian authorities probing BYD’s labour practices in the country say the carmaker brought hundreds of Chinese workers on irregular visas to build the factory

This is the second time BYD has overtaken Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles in a quarter

Workers at the site, which was to be BYD's first EV factory outside of Asia, faced forced labour, long working hours, and sleep deprivation caused by inadequate housing conditions

Shenzhen-listed shares of the carmaker were up 5.74% at close of trade on Monday, while its Hong Kong-listed stock was up 3.53%

The European Commission looks to have gathered enough support for its planned tariffs to go through, despite pushback from major automakers and key bloc members

Hybrid vehicles drove the sales surge at top Chinese EV brands, in keeping with larger global car-buying trends

Technical talks with China had intensified to an almost daily basis and could extend beyond the end of October, a top European Commission official said

The planned tariffs, if approved by the EU's 27 members, will potentially raise prices for consumers at a time when the region's EV sales have plunged 44%

The Model Y crossover is the best-selling car in China among all power types, with January-June sales of 207,800 vehicles

BYD claims the factory will supply the domestic market and is not a backdoor route into the American motor sector

The European Commission said it conducted an investigation, including sending a team to Tesla facilities in China, to verify what subsidies the firm had received