BYD has announced plans to open its European headquarters and a brand-new R&D centre in Budapest, Hungary, as it ramps up its presence across the continent.
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Hungarian government on 15 May in Budapest, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu in attendance. This move marks a major milestone in BYD’s European expansion strategy.
What will BYD’s European HQ do?
The new European HQ will be responsible for sales and after-sales support, vehicle certification and testing, as well as localisation of models and feature development to better suit the needs of European customers.
According to BYD, the facility will also create thousands of jobs in the Hungarian capital, with close collaboration expected between BYD and three Hungarian universities to offer training and education programmes. Hungarian PM Orbán said the partnership would help bring Hungary to the forefront of the EV revolution.
A growing presence in Hungary
This isn’t BYD’s first foray into Hungary. The company’s first European factory opened in Komárom back in 2016, assembling electric buses for the region.
In December 2023, BYD announced it would build a passenger car manufacturing plant in Szeged, Hungary. That facility will be constructed in phases and is also expected to create thousands of jobs.
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Just a month later, in January 2024, BYD signed a land pre-purchase agreement with the local government of Szeged for the upcoming passenger vehicle plant.
Until production begins in Hungary, BYD continues to export its EVs from China to the European market.
BYD models already on sale in Europe
Earlier this year, BYD launched the Sealion 7 (known as the Sealion 07 in China) in Europe — an electric SUV aiming to compete with the Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.4. Other models in BYD’s growing European line-up include the Atto 3 (called Yuan Plus in China), Dolphin, Seal, Seal U (also known as Song Plus EV), Han, Tang, and the upcoming Atto 2. Here’s a list of all BYD cars available in Europe.
| Model Name | Lowest Price in Europe |
| Atto 2 | – |
| Atto 3 | from €26,525 |
| Seal | from €36,990 |
| Seal U | from €34,500 |
| Dolphin | from €19,998 |
| Sealion 7 | from €40,000 |
| Tang | from €65,600 |
| Han | from €54,990 |
