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BYD Vs Tesla: The World’s Top EV Maker Enters Cyprus—And It’s Just The Beginning

by News Editor

April 15, 2025

The electric vehicle giant that dethroned Tesla in global sales is officially entering the Cypriot market. BYD—short for “Build Your Dreams”—has tapped Alpan Group, a subsidiary of Sfakianakis SA, as its exclusive distributor on the island, marking another step in its fast-paced global expansion.

A Strategic Partner With Local Muscle

Alpan Group is no stranger to scale. As the exclusive importer of Samsung smartphones and major appliance brands like Kenwood, DeLonghi, Braun, and Sage, the company already commands a significant share of the Cypriot tech retail space. Through its chain of nine Electroline stores, Alpan has built deep local infrastructure, while holding an impressive 45% of the island’s mobile market via Samsung.

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In late 2023, Alpan ventured into long-term vehicle leasing through its subsidiary Executive Lease—signaling early interest in the mobility sector. Since October 2024, Alpan has been a fully owned arm of Sfakianakis SA, one of Greece’s most powerful commercial groups, with operations spanning 14 countries in Southeastern and Central Europe and a 2024 turnover of €700 million.

Commenting on the BYD deal, the President and CEO of both Alpan and Sfakianakis noted their ambition to become a driving force in the region’s shift to electric mobility, promising to bring Cypriot drivers closer to smart, sustainable transport.

The Brand That Overtook Tesla

Founded in 1994 in Shenzhen by tech entrepreneur Wang Chuanfu, BYD started out as a battery manufacturer. Fast forward three decades, and it’s now a global EV heavyweight, producing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles across six continents and selling in over 400 cities worldwide.

The numbers tell the story: BYD sold 4.27 million vehicles in 2024, a 29% jump year-over-year, with revenue hitting $107 billion—surpassing Tesla’s $97.7 billion. And the momentum isn’t slowing: BYD is projected to sell 5.5 million vehicles in 2025, with 800,000 destined for markets outside China.

Building Roots In Europe

To sidestep EU tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles—currently 27% for BYD imports—BYD is building its first European manufacturing facility in Hungary, set to open in 2025. A second factory is also under consideration, underscoring BYD’s long-term vision for the European market.

As Cyprus gets ready to welcome one of the world’s most advanced EV makers, the local landscape for electric mobility is about to change—and Alpan Group is placing itself in the driver’s seat.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.