BYD Co., one of the world’s largest electrical vehicle (EV) manufacturers, plans to build its first European car factory in Hungary, as part of its rapid global expansion. Hungary will be the center for its European operations, BYD said in a notice on its Weibo social media account Friday. The plant will produce EVs and plug-in hybrids for the European market and create thousands of jobs, BYD said. The factory will have an advanced production line and will be built in phases, it said, without giving details on the amount of money to be invested. The Shenzhen-based company, whose name stands for “Build Your Dreams,” began direct EV sales in Hungary in October. BYD’s investment comes a few months after Brussels announced a probe into Chinese EV makers and might help BYD dodge any resulting import tariffs. BYD plans to launch three new models in Europe within the coming year in addition to the five models it is already selling that include sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs. BYD has 230 outlets in 19 European countries, it said. The factory is to be based in Szeged in southern Hungary, near the border with Serbia and Romania. The city, Hungary’s third-largest, is a center for education and technology. BYD also has a bus manufacturing facility in the Hungarian city of Komarom. BYD’s decision will add to Hungary’s role as a leading European hub for the EV industry, where production facilities help mostly German carmakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen’s Audi brand and, most recently, BMW, transition from the era of combustion engines. Regional competition is fierce, with the car industry also underpinning the economies of eastern European peers Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Hungary has received an estimated €20 billion (US$22 billion) in EV-related investments in the past five years, including a €7.3 billion battery plant China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is building in the eastern city of Debrecen. Chinese brands, such as BYD, SAIC Motor and Nio, have been expanding in Europe to become less dependent on their home market, where oversupply and a price war Tesla Inc. touched off over the last year are weighing on profits. While Chinese manufacturers’ market share in Europe is still low, the country’s dominance in plug-in vehicle production has put the country in position to challenge Japan for the global lead in automotive exports. BYD is expanding in Europe in part because it can charge higher prices there. Its Dolphin compact crossover starts at €35,990 in Germany, more than double the asking price in China. BYD has led sales in China this year of so-called new energy vehicles, or EVs and hybrids, as they reached a third of total auto sales in China. (SD-Agencies) | 