Chinese EV Giant BYD to Establish European Hub in Hungary

• BYD will invest €248M in Hungary to build a European EV development center.
• The project will create 2,000 jobs, mostly for highly educated engineers.
• BYD plans to launch Europe’s first Chinese-made electric passenger car factory by 2025.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been courting China, and the government announced that Chinese electric vehicle company BYD will create a European center in Hungary, creating 2,000 new employment.

Major Chinese initiatives, primarily in the fields of battery and electric vehicle (EV) manufacture, have flooded into the 9.6 million-person central European nation in recent years.

Following a signing ceremony that was attended by BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that the company has chosen to invest 100 billion forints (248 million euros) to open its "European corporate and development centre" in Budapest

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"In total, 2,000 new jobs will be created... and 90 percent of these 2,000 jobs will be filled by workers with higher education qualifications, mainly in engineering," he added.

BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu called it "another step in the friendly cooperation between the two parties".

By the end of 2025, the corporation, which is already well-established in Hungary, plans to create its first European electric car production facility, becoming the first Chinese company to produce passenger cars in Europe.

The factory is situated in southeast Hungary, in Szeged. Through infrastructure projects and tax advantages, Orban has enticed Chinese businesses to establish themselves in his nation.

However, the European Union, which launched an investigation into purported subsidies for Chinese manufacturers in 2023, is at odds with China's exports of electric cars. Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first European visit since 2019 and was hosted by Orban, China's closest ally in the EU.

Since coming back to office in 2010, Orban has promoted a "eastern opening" foreign strategy in an effort to forge stronger economic relations with China, Russia, and other Asian nations. In 2024, BYD, which started out as a battery manufacturer, surpassed Tesla to take the top spot in the global electric vehicle market.