One of the wealthiest and most powerful Chinese figures is in Budapest; the reason remains a secret – UPDATED: big announcement
Chinese BYD founder and CEO Wang Chuanfu landed in Budapest last night. Afterwards, he had a late-night meeting with István Joó, the head of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) and a government commissioner responsible for large-scale investments in Hungary, at Budapest Airport. UPDATE at the end of the article: reason why the BYD hear travelled to Hungary revealed.
Chinese BYD head in Budapest
According to Világgazdaság, they did not tell the press what they were talking about. However, the media outlet said that – apart from electric cars – BYD planned to manufacture plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for Europe in their new plant under construction near Szeged, Southeast Hungary.
The volume of the investment into the new plant is USD 4.5 billion, and it is expected to produce more than 200,000 vehicles yearly starting from end-2025. However, earlier plans included 350,000 new cars per year. The first car will roll out from the plant in H2 2025.
BYD faces high tariffs in the US market. In Europe, import custom stands at 17%, which is why they started to build a new plant in Hungary to support the European market from a member state. And that is why Hungarian economist Zoltán Pogátsa said leaving the EU is not in the interest of PM Viktor Orbán. In case of a Huxit, all big companies would leave Hungary because they would lose access to EU markets. In 2026, BYD will start to build a new plant in Türkiye.
Furthermore, the company leaders talk about building a third European plant.
BYD concludes perfect first three months in 2025
Another Chinese giant, CATL, plans to build a USD 7.6 billion plant in Debrecen to strengthen its position in the continent’s battery manufacturing industry. In Q1 2025, BYD realised an RMB 170.36 billion income, 36% higher than the previous year. Its net profit doubled every year, reaching RMB 9.15 billion.
They purchased more than one million vehicles by 31 March, almost 60% more than in Q1 2024. Its exports more than doubled. According to Világgazdaság, those numbers indicated an economically strong year.
It is unclear who the BYD head will meet in Hungary. PM Viktor Orbán did not post about his arrival, FM Péter Szijjártó – another regular announcement-maker concerning foreign investments – is in Antalya, Türkiye, for an informal NATO meeting.
UPDATE: Here is PM Orbán’s and Chuanfu’s big announcement.
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