BYD hires Hungary's ex-foreign minister as Europe push deepens

Peter Szijjarto will oversee BYD’s external relations and new business development, bringing the company a political figure familiar with both Beijing and Brussels.

The appointment comes as BYD prepares to begin vehicle assembly at its Hungarian passenger-car plant, a key project in its push to localize production in Europe.

Former Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has resigned from parliament to join BYD (HKEX: 1211), turning his years of promoting Chinese investment in Hungary into a business-development role at the Chinese automaker.

Szijjarto said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he had accepted an international position at BYD and would oversee the group’s external relations and the development of new business lines.

He said BYD was one of the automotive industry’s greatest success stories of the past 20 years and the world’s leading new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer.

The appointment comes as BYD accelerates its localization drive in Europe. The company is building its first European passenger-car plant in Szeged, southern Hungary, and plans to begin vehicle assembly there in the fourth quarter.

For BYD, Szijjarto’s value may lie less in automotive manufacturing experience than in his extensive government relationships and his understanding of Europe’s political and regulatory systems.

As Chinese automakers expand their investments in Europe, their challenges are no longer limited to selling vehicles. They must also navigate European Union policies, relations with member-state governments, local employment commitments and supply-chain development.

Szijjarto served for years as Hungary’s foreign minister and was one of the most prominent faces of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “Eastern Opening” strategy, Bloomberg noted in a report on Wednesday.

The strategy prioritized Hungary’s economic and political ties with China and Russia, at times putting the country at odds with other members of the European Union and the NATO military alliance.

During his tenure, Hungary attracted several major Chinese automotive and battery investments. Szijjarto was particularly active in encouraging Chinese electric vehicle (EV) companies to invest in Hungary and repeatedly offered political support for related projects.

BYD announced in December 2023 that it would build a passenger NEV production base in Szeged. The project is being developed in phases and is regarded by the company as an important manufacturing hub for expanding its European operations.

BYD executive vice president Stella Li said in June that the plant would begin vehicle assembly in the fourth quarter. The company is still installing production equipment at the site.

The timetable means the plant will begin operations about a year later than initially planned. BYD previously said the Szeged facility would start producing the Dolphin Surf electric compact car by the end of 2025.

With the European Union imposing additional tariffs on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) imported from China, local production could help BYD reduce the impact of trade tensions and shorten vehicle delivery times.

However, Europe’s higher labor and energy costs may constrain the Hungarian plant’s utilization rate and profitability during its initial production phase.

Hungary is not a new manufacturing market for BYD. The company already operates an electric-bus plant in the country, where cumulative production reached 1,000 buses in September 2025.

BYD also plans to add 29,000 square meters of production facilities at the bus plant to expand capacity for electric buses and trucks. These investments have made Hungary one of the most important manufacturing bases for BYD’s European operations.