BYD plans to open its Hungarian EV factory within three years
According to the carmaker, the “highly advanced manufacturing plant […] will be dedicated to the production of BYD electric cars for the European market.” However, BYD describes the plant as a production facility for New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), a term commonly used in China for electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
BYD emphasised that the plant in Szeged will be the first production facility for passenger cars in Europe to be built by a Chinese automotive company. Construction of the plant will take place in several stages, and the facility will be operational within three years. However, the Chinese company still needs to schedule the ground-breaking ceremony.
BYD confirmed it would build the facility in Hungary in December 2023, but the Shenzhen-based company still needs to provide concrete information. For example, it only mentions that “a range of BYD new energy passenger cars” will be built in Hungary and that the facility “will create thousands of jobs.” BYD also announced in December that it would use its expertise in integrated vertical supply chains to “create a local green ecosystem.”
BYD’s search for a location in Europe took quite some time. The carmaker looked at sites in France, Spain and Germany. BYD manager Stella Li had already announced in December 2022 that the Chinese manufacturer was planning at least one car plant on the European continent, perhaps even two.
BYD is also expanding its product range for the European market. So far, these are still imported vehicles. Once the production facility in Hungary is up and running, the cars will come from there. BYD currently has 250 branches in 19 European countries and offers six electric models: the Han, Tang, Atto 3, Seal, Seal U and Dolphin. It announced two more models for the current year but did not specify whether they will be purely electric or plug-in hybrids.
In the latest press release, BYD also hints at why it chose Hungary for the European production facility: “BYD already has a strong presence in Hungary, having established a high-tech eBus production facility in Komarom since 2016. This has led to BYD’s further investment in Hungary, prompting the announcement in December 2023 that it would construct an electric car manufacturing plant in Szeged bringing a new wave of technological innovation to Europe.”
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