Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency

Built on more than 400 hectares in the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County, the new factory has become Hungary’s fourth automotive production hub. With the support of the HIPA Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, the greenfield investment makes Hungary the only country outside Germany and China where all three major German premium carmakers – Audi, Mercedes, and now BMW – operate production facilities.

The project reached its first major milestone in July 2018, when the company announced Debrecen as the location of its first manufacturing unit in Central Eastern Europe. The decision was the result of 14 months of negotiations.

Worth around EUR 2 billion and creating more than 2,000 new jobs, the project attracted competition not only from several countries across the region but also from multiple Hungarian cities. Debrecen ultimately proved to be the ideal choice thanks to its modern infrastructure – including an international airport – as well as its industrial traditions and skilled workforce.

In December 2020, BMW Group announced that the Debrecen plant would be dedicated exclusively to fully electric cars. This decision significantly elevated the role of the Eastern Hungarian city in the company’s global electromobility strategy, making Debrecen the very first location to house the platform developed for producing the Neue Klasse model family, representing a new generation of electric drivetrains.

In 2022, BMW Group announced that the facility would not only comprise a full-scope production operation but also include a unique battery assembly plant integrated into the site. BMW Group partnered with EVE Power, one of the major players of the battery industry, which in 2023 confirmed plans to build a factory directly adjacent to BMW Groups’s complex with an EUR 1 billion investment, creating over 1,000 jobs.

The foundation stone of the car factory was laid in the summer of 2022. The first Neue Klasse test vehicles rolled off the assembly line in November 2024, while the plant’s debut model, the BMW iX3, was presented to the public in September 2025. The factory will be capable of producing up to 150,000 vehicles annually.

The BMW Group – owner of the BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad brands – employs nearly 160,000 people worldwide and operates more than 30 production facilities. In 2024, the company sold 2.45 million cars and 210,000 motorcycles, generating revenues of EUR 142.2 billion and a profit before tax of EUR 11 billion.