BYD steers into Europe: New development centre in Hungary
Chinese brands are taking the European automotive market increasingly seriously. This is evidenced by the announcements from BYD, which plans to open a local development centre. The official announcement came from the president himself on 15th May.
On Thursday, 15th May, a conference took place in Budapest with the participation of BYD's president, Wang Chuanfu, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It concerned the establishment of a European development centre that would be located in Hungary.
Wang explained that the investment would provide Hungary with a minimum of 2,000 jobs in various positions. The BYD development centre would be responsible for sales and after-sales services, including testing and developing new models tailored to European tastes.
If the project comes to fruition, it will be another Chinese business in Hungary. Since 2016, a BYD bus factory has been operating in Komárom, Hungary, and another plant, which will produce electric cars, is currently under construction. It is worth mentioning that a similar investment is currently being implemented in Izmir, Turkey.
Under Viktor Orban's leadership, Hungary has become the most pro-Chinese country in the EU. Therefore, the choice of Hungary for the new BYD development centre location should not come as a surprise.
