China carmakers rev up in Europe

A visitor taking a photo of a BYD Seal EV at a trade show in Frankfurt, Germany. BYD, which is China’s leading automaker, is constructing a plant in Hungary while its rivals expand through joint ventures in Europe as an answer to EU tariffs. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

THE leafy city of Szeged, Hungary, with its wide avenues, a renowned university and pale yellow villas, seems more a relic of the Hapsburg empire than a hub for Europe’s automotive future.

Yet at a 300ha construction site near the Serbian border, excavators are preparing for the first European assembly plant of China’s leading automaker, BYD.