Chinese giant BYD has delayed the start of mass production in its first passenger vehicle plant in Europe to 2026, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The Hungarian plant, which has an investment of over $4 billion, was expected to begin operations in late 2025, with an annual production capacity of around 200,000 to 300,000 vehicles.
The plant will produce “tens of thousands” of vehicles in the first two years of manufacturing.
The plant has a planned investment of about $1 billion and is set to produce about 150,000 vehicles annually. It is now expected to begin operations by the end of 2026.
The same sources noted that the plant in Turkey from the world’s leading new energy vehicle (NEV) maker will start producing earlier than expected, as labor costs are lower in the Euroasian country.
The factory’s initial output is estimated to surpass that of the Hungary’s site, according to the sources.
BYD also established its European headquarters in Hungary earlier this year. Its presence in the country goes back to 2016, when it opened an electric bus factory in the city of Komárom.
The company continues to expand its presence in Europe, as it aims for 50% of all sales to come from overseas markets by 2030.
By establishing a local factory, it became the first Chinese automaker to bypass EU tariffs on Chinese-produced vehicles. The company currently faces a 17% tariff on all EVs it imports into the continent, and 10% for plug-in hybrid models.
However, the EU and China are currently undergoing negotiations regarding the duties imposed late last year, as global trade tensions rose earlier this year due to the tariffs applied by the US.
Last week, a group of several Chinese automakers took part in the discussions. According to the CCCEU, Nio, XPeng, Xiaomi, among others, “discussed US-EU trade, EV tariffs, green policies and investment climate,” with “all sides committed to dialogue.”
BYD‘s lineup across Europe includes ten models, both hybrids and fully electric ones. By year end, it expects to have more than 1,000 retail outlets across Europe.
According to its website, the company is currently present in over 20 European markets. BYD expanded to Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia and Estonia in the past few months.
On Monday, BYD announced it has partnered with Inter (FC Internazionale Milano), one of the top European football clubs.
The automaker will be the club’s automotive partner “for the next three seasons” as the main sponsor in the Inter jersey while providing 70 vehicles to the players and top management.
