Orbán scores major victory after Chinese auto giant BYD agrees to build European HQ in Hungary

The Hungarian government is taking a victory lap after scoring a deal with Chinese EV giant BYD, which is increasingly eating into the global share of automobile sales.

After Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Stella Li, executive vice president of Chinese EV maker BYD, Wang Weizhong, the governor of Guangzhou Province, said that this is a very important step for the development of BYD, Hungary and Guangzhou Province.

“The establishment of BYD’s European headquarters is a tangible result of Hungarian-Chinese cooperation under the One Belt, One Road Initiative. BYD is fortunate to be able to participate in Hungary’s economic development,” he said, as quoted by the Mandiner news portal. 

“The world can witness the boundless possibilities of Chinese-Hungarian cooperation,” he added. 

The center, which will include a new development center and will coordinate its activities with BYD’s factories, will create about 2,000 new jobs and perform development and design tasks, among other things. 

China and Hungary have always been good partners, and the one province of Guangzhou accounts for about 10 percent of trade between the two countries. 

Hungarian PM Orbán meanwhile received the chairman and CEO of BYD, Wang Chuanfu, in his office on Thursday. He told press afterward that he visited China two years ago, and that Hungarian-Chinese relations have continued to strengthen ever since. Now, he said, with BYD, the cars of the future will be built in Hungary. 

Just last week, BYD announced it would also be producing plug-in hybrid electric cars in its European plants, including in Szeged, where it is building a  $4.5 billion plant that will produce around 200,000 vehicles per year from the end of 2025.

The current agreement means that the cars of the future will be manufactured in Hungary, the prime minister noted. “In the 1990s, we successfully joined the world’s car industry, but now we need to talk about the future, as we are in the midst of a change of era.”

“New technologies and new manufacturers have emerged, and Hungary does not want to be left out. Hungarian industry must join electromobility,” Orbán said, adding, “This is the future, although success is unthinkable on our own – we need partners. We can only be successful if there is Hungarian-Chinese cooperation, as China is the world leader in this technology.”

As a member of the Belt and Road Initiative, Hungary has a strategic partnership with China, which they are using to modernize and make the Hungarian economy more resilient. Hungary has been seeking to engage with all potential partners in this goal. 

The prime minister reminded those present that China is the largest investor in Hungary, along with the United States and Germany, and noted that Chinese investment is the engine of Hungary’s economic growth. 

“We are also working together on infrastructure projects, such as the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, the V0 freight railway line, and other developments between Hungary and Serbia,” Orbán said. 

As to the tariffs proposed by both the U.S. Trump administration and Brussels, he said: “We have always opposed tariffs on China, and we must return to cooperation based on mutual respect. The goal is to also bring development capacities to the country: first production, then development, and finally research. And our grand plan is working.”

This most recent announcement from BYD is “opening a new era,” Orbán said. “This investment by BYD represents a qualitative leap, as the majority of the 2,000 new jobs will be created for highly qualified professionals.”

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