EU Parliament Questions Commission on BYD Hungary Labor Allegations

Three members of the European Parliament formally asked the European Commission about alleged labor abuses at BYD's factory in Hungary earlier this month. The inquiry follows a report published on April 14 by New York-based watchdog China Labor Watch, which alleged that contractors hired to build the factory kept thousands of employees working seven days a week with shifts lasting more than 12 hours a day.

China Labor Watch interviewed 50 workers and visited the factory site three times since October 2025.

The allegations mark the first time claims of labor abuses linked to a Chinese-owned auto business manufacturing in the European Union have been brought to the attention of the European Commission. China Labor Watch shared the report's findings with EU government representatives. BYD has become the first Chinese business to be raised in the European Parliament over such allegations in Hungary.

In February, a worker reportedly died on-site during a crane operation at BYD's Hungary factory. CLW founder Qiang Li told CNBC there had been more deaths on site at the factory. Qiang Li also told CNBC that broader medical support was inadequate at the factory as individuals were not always employed on work visas with corresponding medical insurance.

Hungary's National Ambulance Service told CNBC that since February 1, emergency medical services were called to the BYD factory site 12 times, with one death. The facility in the southern Hungarian city of Szeged is one of five BYD sites in Hungary. BYD established its European headquarters in Hungary nearly a year ago during a visit by chairman Wang Chuanfu.

One contractor named in the report, AIM Construction Hungary, is a subsidiary of Jinjiang Construction Group. Jinjiang Construction Group was linked to a 2024 scandal at BYD's factory in Brazil that national labor authorities said involved conditions analogous to slavery.

AIM Construction Hungary was previously known as China Jinjiang Construction Hungary, according to company records from Hungary's Ministry of Justice.

BYD claimed in December 2024 that it stopped working with Jinjiang Construction's Brazilian subsidiary in the wake of the scandal. The CLW report said it reviewed a sample labor contract for jobs at BYD's Hungary factory, which included the option of being sent to Brazil and Turkey, where BYD is also building a factory.

One of the contractors is a subsidiary of the same Chinese firm that was accused of subjecting workers to slave-like conditions at a BYD factory in Brazil.

BYD did not respond to CNBC requests for comment. BYD surpassed Tesla as the world's largest electric car manufacturer in 2025.

BYD aims to sell more than a million cars outside China this year. The EU raised tariffs on China-made electric cars in 2024. 3% of new cars sold in the EU in December, according to Rhodium Group.

8% of the market, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. BYD's Seal U ranked third in January registrations in the EU, behind models from Renault and Skoda, according to European Commission data.