"Chinese Tesla rival BYD to open its first European EV manufacturing plant in Hungary"

I wonder if the German marques are glancing east to see what the future might hold?*

From EuroNews, December 22, 2023:

The announcement comes as Hungary continues to try to position itself as a global hub for EV manufacturing.

One of the world's largest electrical vehicle (EV) manufacturers is to open its first European production factory in Hungary.

Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó announced that Chinese carmaker BYD will open the factory, in the latest step for the central European country’s efforts to be a global hub for EV manufacturing.

The plant will be built near the southern city of Szeged, and is expected to provide thousands of jobs to the region, Szijjártó said in a statement posted to his Facebook page....

....MUCH MORE

*See for example, January 3, 2024 "China could be on track to dominate the world’s EV market, even if not in the U.S." and December 8's "Western Legacy Automakers Probably Won't Be Long-Term Survivors" 

 

Another example is the world's largest battery manufacturer, CATL. They have 16,000 researchers. I'm not sure the rest of the world combined has 16,000 people researching batteries