BYD hires Hungary's ex-foreign minister as Europe push deepens

Former Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced Wednesday that he has resigned from his parliamentary seat to join Shenzhen-based automaker BYD.

Péter Szijjártó. File photo

The 47-year-old wrote on Facebook that he had received “a highly prestigious offer” from the world’s top electric carmaker “to fill an international position.”

“BYD is one of the greatest success stories in the automotive industry over the past 20 years,” Szijjártó wrote. “Starting today, I will continue my work as the executive responsible for the group’s external relations and the development of new business lines.”

Szijjártó had been a member of the Hungarian National Assembly since 2002. He left his ministerial post in May after Péter Magyar’s pro-European Tisza party won a landslide election in April, though he had remained in parliament until now.

During his tenure as foreign minister, Szijjártó was a strong advocate for Chinese investment. Speaking in Brussels in November 2025, he noted that Chinese investment in Hungary had ranked among the highest in the world over the previous two years, emphasizing that the Hungarian Government remained committed to "unimpeded global economic cooperation with China."

Szijjártó visited Shenzhen in October 2023, touring the headquarters of Huawei and BYD and promoting Hungary as Europe's most competitive investment destination.

"Hungary offers the best investment environment in Europe," Szijjártó said during that trip, citing its only single-digit corporate income tax rate. "We have always respected Chinese companies. I think this makes us attractive to Chinese companies, including BYD and Huawei."

Hungary has become a strategic hub for BYD’s European expansion. The company set up its regional headquarters there in May 2025 and is now building its first passenger car plant in Szeged, with the first vehicles due to roll off the line by the end of 2026.