The photo taken on September 4, 2023 shows the booth of the Chinese car manufacturer BYD at the International Motor Show Germany. Photo: VCG

Chinese electric car maker BYD will build a manufacturing plant for new-energy vehicle (NEV) in Szeged, Hungary, the company told the Global Times on Friday, further accelerating the company's development in Europe.

The plant will boost local economic development and create thousands of jobs for local communities, and will also serve to promote China-Hungary technology exchanges and innovation, BYD said.

BYD's presence in Hungary dates back to 2005, involving various businesses including a bus factory established in 2017, a battery manufacturing base in June 2023, and its second official retail site in Budapest, capital of Hungary entered commercial services in October 2023.

Aside from auto manufactures, other companies making up the NEV industrial chain have also kicked off their expansion in Europe.

Chinese lithium-ion battery giant CATL together with Stellantis NV, a carmaker based in the Netherlands, announced on November 21 the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, which means CATL will supply lithium iron phosphate battery cells and modules to power the Dutch company's electric vehicle production in Europe.

SAIC Motors announced in July this year the company is planning to establish a whole vehicle manufacturing plant in Europe, according to a report by Securities Daily. Changan Auto's chairman Zhu Huarong said during a press conference held in November that the company will deploy manufacturing base in Europe and America to optimize production capacity.

Global Times