This will be one of the most significant investments in Hungarian economic history.
China's BYD, the world's largest electric car manufacturer, will build its first European plant in Szeged, and this will be one of the most significant investments in Hungarian economic history, as a result of which thousands of new jobs will be created, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday.
The head of the ministry reported that every fourth company selling electric cars globally this year is building new factories following its success on the world market, and thus has been looking for a location for this in Europe for a long time.
The company's board of directors finally decided the day before after 224 rounds of negotiations with the National Investment Agency to build its first plant on the continent in Szeged, which will now be the sixth car factory in Hungary, he informed.
BYD, which registered more than HUF 20,000 billion in revenue by September this year and employs approximately 630,000 people, will not produce batteries but electric cars in Hungary, and this project will be one of the largest investments in Hungarian economic history, which will create thousands of new jobs - he added.
He also went on to say that
the government provides financial support for the investment, but the extent of this will only be made public after the approval of the European Commission.
Péter Szijjártó stated that all this further strengthens the positions of the Hungarian economy, the foundations of long-term economic growth, and at the same time the role of our country in the global transition to the electric car industry.
"This investment also underlines that Hungary plays a leading role in the technological revolution. It was a long time ago that Hungary would have taken the lead in such fundamental global technological renewal, and now this is happening," he pointed out. He also thanked his fellow representatives, the Szeged city administration and his colleagues at the National Investment Agency for their cooperation.
"During the past 224 rounds of negotiations, we have clearly demonstrated that there is one national economy, and that we should all be interested in the success of this national economy, regardless of our political views or political party," he said .
The minister emphasized that
in recent years, the world has gone through a series of crises, but there was one process that went ahead steadily and unbroken despite all the uncertainties, and this is the electric transition of the automotive industry, which is a kind of backbone of the European and global economy.
According to his words, this process will be decisive for the next world economic era, and this new industry will decide which countries in the world will be the winners and which will be the losers.
"Which country gets into which category is decided by which countries can attract the investments of this new automotive era," he said.
Finally, he reminded that the three premium German car brands are already present in Hungary, and that Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have also placed a significant part of their electromobility strategy here.
MTI
Cover photo: Photo: Facebook / Péter Szijjártó
