BYD to invest $94 million to triple electric bus output in Hungary
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Chinese automaker BYD will invest 32 billion forints ($94 million) in a new plant in the northern Hungarian town of Komarom, tripling its annual capacity to 1,250 electric buses and trucks, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
Under right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has become an important trade and investment partner for China, in contrast with some other European Union nations considering becoming less dependent on the world's second-largest economy.
"We Hungarians do not consider East-West cooperation a threat, but rather an opportunity, a big opportunity," Szijjarto was quoted as saying on Friday, adding that the government would support the project with a 3.1 billion forint grant.
Orban, who has spearheaded a drive in central Europe to bring Chinese EV and battery manufacturing plants to Hungary, has said his landlocked country did not want to be squeezed into either bloc and wanted to keep trading with both sides.
BYD, which is also building an electric car factory in southern Hungary and expects to establish a European centre in the country, will establish a research and development laboratory alongside its latest investment in an apparent reward for Hungary's condemnation of European tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Orban started bringing his country closer to Beijing after he came to power in 2010. Warm political relations turned into investments about a decade later when battery and EV makers started to bring production to Hungary.
Szijjarto said Hungary had received nearly a third of Chinese inward investment into Europe last year, lifting the total volume of Chinese investments to 5.5 trillion forints ($16 billion), representing 64 large projects.
($1 = 340.08 forints)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Europe's Time Is Now (for Stablecoins)
Trump has come into office with a wrecking ball – and his acts of unpredictability, both domestically and abroad, have only hampered the dollar's status as the choice reserve currency. In the crypto world, this only means one thing – USD-pegged stablecoins will wane in dominance, leaving a vacuum for other currencies to pounce. And of them, it might just be the rapidly growing EUR coins that muscle up the hardest. Let's take a step back. Since Trump's inauguration, the dollar has fallen to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies, declining by approximately 5% over roughly the last six months. A combination of whimsical trade policy, feckless fiscal bets, and, overall, international antagonism have beleaguered the U.S. market, damning its equities, raising its Treasury yields, and taking an axe to the dollar. The U.S.'s prominence as the strongest and most stable economy has been tested. And we've even seen an 'Anywhere, but the USA' trade come to light as a result. With the U.S. economy and markets so volatile, investors have – as usual – fled to safe-haven assets like gold to mitigate any losses. But surprisingly, the euro has also risen up the ranks: according to a recent report by Reuters, central bankers across the globe are now looking at gold, the renminbi, and the euro as choice reserve assets. The world is diversifying away from the dollar – and that'll be sure to reflect in DeFi. Of course, that being said, I'm not talking about a full-fledged overtake here. In the stablecoin world, USD is very much king. Tether dominates nearly 70% of the market, and we've even seen Circle make headlines for securing a $5.4 billion IPO. But as the dollar wanes – especially to the point it makes losses against emerging markets and the G10 – I just think the market will broaden out. USD monopolies might not be as strong. Currently, there are 12 prominent euro-pegged stablecoins and 56 USD counterparts – a huge difference. But as the euro makes up its losses and gains further strength, who's to say these coins won't compete? With enthusiastic fiscal policy, stronger defence spending, and, of course, the momentum of capital flow, the euro has climbed to near pivotal $1.20. And if Trump continues on his current path, I expect this will only climb further. It's not just a trend of de-dollarization to factor in, either. The E.U. has become increasingly open to crypto, this year cementing the final provisions of the MiCA framework – giving crypto issuers the ability to attain licences and establish themselves in the regulated European market. Tether is not compliant with MiCA, giving alternative coins – including EUR-pegged ones, such as EURC – an opportunity to strengthen their regional market share. By way of that, the E.U. has subsequently adopted a more favorable and supportive stance toward crypto issuers. OKX, Coinbase, and soon perhaps even Gemini are all crypto issuers and exchanges with or about to receive EU approval. Forget Trump's vows to make the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the planet.' The EU is fast catching up. Europe is no longer the anti-innovation, bureaucratic monster it once was. It has palmed off its past scepticism, opened its doors to digital assets, and beyond that, as per Christine Lagarde, is ambitious enough to be pushing for its 'global euro moment.' It is truly capitalizing on the misfortunes of Uncle Sam, and I see no plausible reason as to how this won't reflect in the stablecoin market. I understand the attitude toward stablecoins is still mixed. The Bank of International Settlements has recently cast them off as a 'financial stability risk.' Even so, the global market cap of the broader ecosystem recently peaked at over $250 billion. The size, popularity, and appeal of the market cannot be denied. And they're certainly more practical than tokenised currencies, as BIS' Project Agora is attempting to push forward. As such, I don't see the stablecoin market contracting any time soon. And as long as Trump continues his heavy-handed approach and Europe capitalises on the fallout, I can only see issuers veering closer and closer to EUR-based coins. Complete de-dollarisation is far from realistic, but as long as the euro remains on its upward trajectory, so will investments into and transactions via the continent and its currency. By 2028 – and by that, I mean the end of Trump's term – I predict we'll see more EUR-pegged stablecoins come to the surface, and so much so that they'll even threaten their American counterparts. Recession risks, bear market risks, and, overall, a lack of investor confidence have taken the dollar into the doldrums. Europe's time is now.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK Car Output Hits 76-Year Low
UK car production plunged to its lowest level since 1949 last month, as Aston Martin and other British carmakers halted exports to the United States amid president Donald Trump's escalating trade war. Data released on Friday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) found that UK factories turned out just 49,810 cars and vans in the month of May, down 33 per cent on the year and the worst monthly performance in 76 years, outside the COVID-19 shutdowns of 2020. The collapse comes after Trump imposed steep tariffs on foreign-made cars, prompting British firms like Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover to suspend US-bound shipments from April. Exports to the US fell by 55 per cent in May, slashing the American market's share of UK automotive exports from 18 per cent to just 11 per cent. Exports to the EU, meanwhile, dropped 22.5 per cent. The trade standstill could ease next week, however, when a new UK-US trade deal comes into force. Under the agreement, the US will reduce its automotive import tariff from 27.5 per cent down to 10 per cent of the first 100,000 UK-made vehicles shipped annually. The deal, announced by Trump on 16 June during the G7 summit in Canada, follows weeks of turbulence triggered by his so-called 'liberation day' tariffs blitz, which raised levies across steel, car and aluminium imports from US trading partners. Aston Martin, which had slashed exports to the US at the end of April in response to tariff chaos, saw its shares plunge from 119p to below 60p during the height of the fallout. Although the FTSE 250 stock rallied nearly 13 per cent on the day the deal was announced, it has since remained stuck in a rut, closing at 70p on Wednesday. The carmaker's chief executive, Adrian Hallmark, said the firm was now scrambling to capitalise on the new trade window. He said: 'It comes live on the 30th June… so we're planning to invoice three months' worth of sales in a 24-hour period.' Still, Hallmark welcomed the deal, noting that British carmakers were now 'less worse off than some of (their) European and non-European competitors'. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, acknowledged the damage inflicted by the tariff war: 'While 2025 has proved to be an incredibly challenging year for UK automotive production, there is the beginning of some optimism for the future'. He remained optimistic, pointing to the trade truce and the UK's new industrial strategy, which promises to cut energy costs for manufacturers by up to 25 per cent. Even before the tariff flare-up, Britain's carmakers were facing growing pressures. The government's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which compels manufacturers to hit rising EV sales targets, has triggered structural changes across the sector. Stellantis last year cited the cost of ZEV compliance in its decision to close its Luton factory and consolidate products at Ellesmere Port. Ford, meanwhile, cut 800 UK jobs as part of a broader European retrenchment. Cyril Aboujaoude, co-founder of private equity firm Tioopo Capital, said: 'This deal has the potential to mark a positive shift in the UK-US industrial trade, but its long-term value will depend on more than short-term quota relief.' He added: 'Long term visibility is essential – not just for the major auto manufacturers, but for the mid-sixed, high spec engineering firms that represent the future of UK innovation'. By City AM More Top Reads From this article on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
15 minutes ago
- Axios
Texas Instruments expanding U.S. chip production
Texas Instruments plans to spend $60 billion to produce more chips in the U.S. and has carved out an even larger role for Sherman, where the Dallas-based company is building a megasite. Why it matters: Chips are integral to cars, data centers and electronics and are difficult to manufacture. The Biden and Trump administrations have advocated for the U.S. to manufacture more chips domestically and rely less on Chinese tech components. State of play: TI says it will make the country's largest investment in foundational semiconductor manufacturing, creating over 60,000 new jobs. The company was already building two semiconductor fabrication plants, referred to as fabs, at a megasite in Sherman. Now, the company says it will build two more plants at the site to support future demand. TI also plans to ramp up production at its existing plants in Richardson and Lehi, Utah. The intrigue: TI is more than graphing calculators. The 95-year-old company's technology is found in Apple products, Ford vehicles, SpaceX's Starlink internet service and health care equipment. The company is also working with Nvidia to develop advanced AI infrastructure. Zoom out: Samsung is investing more than $40 billion, along with $6.4 billion in federal money, to expand semiconductor production in Central Texas, including a 1,200-acre chip manufacturing plant outside Austin — almost twice as large as the company's flagship campus in South Korea. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is planning six plants in Phoenix and says 30% of its most advanced chips will be produced in Arizona. Threat level: The U.S. has scrambled to ramp up chip production capacity after the pandemic exposed the country's overreliance on imports as a national security issue, Axios' Nathan Bomey reports.
