BYD to triple capacity of Komárom bus factory

Confirming previous rumors, BYD is set to triple the capacity of its Komárom manufacturing facility with an investment worth 32 billion forints. This expansion, supported by 3.1 billion forints from the Hungarian government, will create 620 new jobs, announced Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, during the foundation stone-laying ceremony this morning.

We visited BYD’s Komárom plant, which opened in 2017, in the spring of 2019. At that time, the facility could produce 200-400 buses and self-propelled chassis annually. Since then, the plant, now capable of manufacturing BYD’s entire European bus lineup, has continually expanded and currently employs around 700 people. The factory primarily focuses on Western European exports and has recently started assembling BYD’s latest models equipped with Blade batteries, such as the eBus B12 electric bus seen in our headline image. BYD is a major player in the European electric bus market and leads the segment in Hungary. Operating as BYD’s only European bus factory, it is currently running at full capacity. This is partly why the upcoming Budapest series ordered by ArrivaBus couldn’t be produced domestically, prompting the long-planned expansion.

Electric buses ordered by Belgium’s De Lijn are also produced in Hungary

As announced at the foundation stone-laying ceremony, the investment will include the establishment of a research and development test laboratory, and the production capacity will be tripled to reach 1,250 vehicles annually. Notably, trucks were also mentioned alongside electric buses at the site. Our portal previously learned that BYD aims to achieve a production capacity of 1,000 units in Komárom by the first half of next year.

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, announces the factory expansion at the ceremony

Within just 18 months, BYD has announced its third major investment in Hungary, including the expansion of the Komárom plant. In addition to relocating its European headquarters to Budapest, BYD has started constructing its first European car factory in Szeged. Besides these, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer operates a parts manufacturing facility in Páty and a battery assembly plant in Fót.

Headline image: Péter Szijjártó’s Facebook page