BYD cuts production at new Hungary plant, sources say

China's BYD will delay mass production at its new electric vehicle factory in Hungary until 2026 and will run the plant at below capacity for at least the first two years, two sources familiar with the matter said.

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At the same time, China’s No. 1 automaker will start making cars earlier than expected at a new plant in Turkey where labour costs are lower, and will vastly exceed its announced production plans, one of the sources said.

Shifting production away from Hungary in favour of Turkey would be a setback for the European Union, which has been hoping that its tariffs on EVs made in China would bring in Chinese investments and well-paid manufacturing jobs.

BYD’s €4 billion ($4.64 billion) plant in Szeged, southern Hungary, will start mass production in 2026 but only make a few tens of thousands of vehicles over the whole year, the sources said.

That would be a fraction of the plant's initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. It should eventually have a maximum capacity of 300,000 cars per year.

A third source confirmed the slower 2026 startup.

BYD has said it will launch operations at Szeged in October, but has not said publicly when mass production will start. Production at Szeged is due to increase in 2027, but will still be below planned capacity, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the automaker's $1 billion plant in Turkey, which had been slated to start production at the end of 2026 with an annual capacity of 150,000 cars, will make more cars than the Hungarian plant next year, one of the sources said.