Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency

The world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer has already acquired the office building in Budapest’s Újbuda district that will serve as its European headquarters, and the chairman and CEO of BYD, Mr. Wang Chuanfu indicated that the company plans to employ even more people than the originally planned 2,000 – highlighted Mr. István Joó.  

BYD has been active in Hungary since 2005 and established its electric bus manufacturing plant in Komárom in 2017. After 224 rounds of negotiations, the company selected Szeged as the location for its first European passenger car plant at the end of 2023.

The decision to set up the European business and R&D centre in Hungary was also followed by an intense negotiation process, lasting more than a year, the HIPA CEO noted.

Having chosen Budapest as the location for BYD’s highest value-added activities is a testament to Hungary’s favourable business environment and economic performance

– emphasized Mr. István Joó.

The HIPA CEO also spoke on public television M1. He stressed that BYD is not only relocating its European business operations from the Netherlands to Budapest but also launching two large-scale R&D projects worth nearly EUR 250 million combined, each of which ranks as a record among HIPA-managed R&D projects.

The first project aims to develop a driving technology system based on artificial intelligence that enables vehicles to learn autonomously by analyzing data collected in real time from driving situations. “This will lead to new driver-assistance solutions and autonomous driving features, which are clearly the future of mobility” – Mr. István Joó said.

The second R&D project focuses on further developing BYD’s powertrain technology to enhance the performance and energy efficiency of electric vehicles. The immense innovation power of the company is showcased by the fact that just recently, it unveiled a technology that allows EVs to be charged with a 400-kilometre range in just five minutes — he added.

With the new investments Hungary will also become home to such cutting-edge developments. The establishment of BYD’s European HQ and R&D base is thus a truly unprecedented, landmark moment in Hungary’s economic history – stated Mr. István Joó.

He revealed that BYD will engage in strategic partnerships with three Hungarian universities, investing billions of forints into academic collaboration, including programs involving PhD and master’s students.

BYD has committed to registering at least 50% of the patents developed in Hungary locally, a major achievement given that the company files 45 patent applications per day

– underlined HIPA’s CEO.

The European headquarters will also employ highly qualified professionals. the company will manage its entire European sales operation from Budapest, creating demand for a wide range of experts, from customer experience and HR specialists to financial professionals.

Mr. István Joó emphasized that the Government’s long-standing strategy has been to first attract manufacturing capacity, and then follow up with the highest value-added activities, such as business services and R&D.

In BYD’s case, the scale is simply astonishing, the company is already thinking beyond the two announced R&D projects. The future is indeed bright 

– Mr. István Joó said.