Chinese automaker BYD is out to conquer the European car market – with a fleet of transport ships plus its own factories there. Hungary is to be home to a new car plant complete with battery production.
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00:00In crash tests, cars made by China's BYD have performed just as well as their European rivals.
00:09Right now, there's a growing backlog of BYD cars in the German port of Bremerhaven due to insufficient demand.
00:18But having sold more electric cars than anyone else in the last quarter of 2023, the carmaker is not putting the brakes on its expansion strategy.
00:28Across Germany, new BYD showrooms are popping up, like this one in Berlin.
00:33For most customers, it's their first look at the Chinese vehicles.
00:37They're used to driving a VW, Mercedes or Renault, but are curious to check out both the design and engineering of models by the names of Tang, Han and Dolphin.
00:50It's a nice feel, very comfortable.
00:52The workmanship is top, it's a great brand, and it's a perfect fit for us as a family.
01:01They seem very similar to the Europeans, but are they as well-constructed? We'll have to see, but I'm sure they'll have put in a lot of effort.
01:12The showroom manager is in no doubt that the cars will find plenty of buyers.
01:18BYD makes its own batteries, as well as crucial chip components, in its own factories.
01:24A lot of potential buyers are surprised by the high quality of materials and a, by German standards, generous array of in-car entertainment up front.
01:33Prices for a BYD model here start at 29,000 euros.
01:39BYD also has to look at how comparable competitors are faring and not overdo things.
01:45We see the SEAL as a direct rival to Tesla, and its entry-level price is just below Tesla models.
01:54BYD's Explorer ships can transport up to 7,000 electric cars.
01:59The company is planning to dispatch a further eight of them on the route to Europe, with an eye on conquering the huge market here.
02:10On its domestic market, BYD outsells US rival Tesla.
02:14As electric cars become the subject of a brutal price war, production capacities are huge.
02:25Add another night shift or continue production all weekend, and China could easily be turning out 50 million cars a year.
02:32But interestingly, domestic demand of only 23 million means a difference of 27.
02:38US demand is at 14 million, and Europe 13.
02:42So China has built up capacities so enormous that they could cover the entire world.
02:49Figures like that have prompted the EU to consider introducing punitive tariffs due to BYD's excessive state subsidies,
02:56one possible way of stemming the tide of Chinese EVs.
03:01Anticipating those tariffs, BYD is intending to build a factory in the EU on this patch of countryside in southern Hungary.
03:09But the first digging will be by archaeologists.
03:12Roman-era artifacts dating back more than 2,000 years have been found here.
03:17For centuries, the area was used as pastureland for grazing cows.
03:23That discovery could mean serious delays for construction work.
03:28But BYD expects its cars to be rolling off the line here next year.
03:35So will the project have to be halted?
03:39It's not in our interest, and of course we don't plan to do that.
03:43We're working closely with other institutions that are carrying out archaeological work,
03:48and with investors, so that we can do our job and they can do theirs with a minimum of interruptions.
03:55Hungary is a popular springboard for Chinese companies in Europe.
04:00Budapest is home to one of the biggest Chinese communities on the continent,
04:04and soon, thousands of workers are expected to arrive from China to build the new BYD factory.
04:11This could also see part of China's surveillance system coming to Hungary,
04:16which would mean China gaining access to Hungary's own camera surveillance network.
04:22The two countries have now signed a security pact.
04:25Hungarian police could soon start to be accompanied on street patrols in Budapest by Chinese security personnel.
04:35The leader of the opposition in the Hungarian parliament fears that the arrival of BYD will have adverse side effects.
04:46I don't think they'll do the same social credit system that works in China,
04:52but even if they bring in the camera system and the facial recognition system,
04:56that is something that could be very much used by an autocratic government like Hungary.
05:03BYD is confident of selling EVs on the European market,
05:07but it could also mean the import of more than just Chinese electric cars.