Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD announced on Friday that it will build an assembly plant in Hungary. This is the company’s first battery-powered vehicle production facility in Europe and is the latest sign of the company’s ambitious plans to expand beyond Asia.
BYD is already the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, with most of its cars sold in China, and has begun opening dealerships in Europe as it looks to expand global sales. Last year, the company sold 1.86 million battery-powered vehicles, including plug-in hybrids with both electric motors and gasoline engines. This surpassed Tesla, which sold 1.3 million electric cars in 2022.
BYD said in a statement that the new production facility will be located in Szeged, southern Hungary. The factory will create “thousands of local jobs” and promote “technology exchange and innovation between China and Hungary.” However, details such as the size of the factory, how much money BYD will invest, and when construction will begin have not been disclosed.
U.S. and European automakers are rapidly spending billions of dollars to retrofit factories to produce more electric vehicles, and are well aware of the threat posed by BYD, Nio and other Chinese car companies. are doing. China is the world’s largest auto market, and domestic companies are using government support to invest heavily in technology.
Seven Chinese manufacturers showed off their rising power at the Munich Auto Show in September, where BYD drew applause with its sleek new sedans and sport utility vehicles.
European lawmakers recently launched an investigation into whether Chinese automakers receive government subsidies, which could lead to tariffs from the European Union. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Europe is open to competition, not a race to the bottom.” “We must protect ourselves from injustice.”
European automakers are responding to this challenge. Volkswagen has invested heavily in China, where it was once the top seller. German newspaper Handelsblatt also reported that VW is in preliminary talks with Renault to manufacture low-cost electric cars.
In October, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Shenzhen, the home of BYD. According to the Shenzhen government website, he visited BYD’s headquarters and said, “Hungary welcomes Chinese-funded companies and has a strong desire to cooperate.” Mr. Orbán has long looked to countries such as Russia and China as potential destinations for economic investment.
But China’s other big project in Hungary, a $7.8 billion factory by CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker, is not always going smoothly. Concerns about pollution, depleted water supplies and an influx of Chinese and other foreign workers sparked outrage at the hearing.
claire fu, melissa eddy and keith bradshire Contributed to the report.