Back from Hungary, where we visited BMW, BYD and Schaeffler

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Back from Hungary, where we visited BMW, BYD and Schaeffler

Germany | Autos & Auto Parts EquityJuneResearch8, 2026

Back from Hungary, where we visited BMW, BYD On the Road With BMW Management,

and Schaeffler 27-28 May

We spent 2 days visiting operations of BMW, BYD and Schaeffler in Hungary.

Unemployment ~4% is a challenge, but labour costs remain attractive (~China

and <Mexico). IAA FDI provisions may prevent future Chinese greenfield

investment in the EU while Chinese suppliers' inability to transfer their cost edge

to Europe may lead to M&A or reverse-engineering instead. BMW demonstrated

a state-of-the-art flow-driven 100% fossil free plant.

BMW - We toured BMW's sole plant for the Neue Klasse-based iX3 in Debrecen and met Hans-

Peter Kemser, CEO of BMW's Hungary operations, who has been running the site since construction

began, and Otto Murr, Head of Quality. There is a strong focus on sustainability, 100% fossil-free

solar powers the plant and drives a ~65% reduction in production CO2 per unit and -35% from

supply chain, including ~55 German suppliers located in the area. We noted a very streamlined

process around a completely clutter-free assembly line, leveraging simpler EV vehicle design to

'finger-style plant layout' which allows more entry points and flow as well as less intermediate

stock (80% of components are delivered JIT), all consistent with the suggested 10%+ reduction in

unit manufacturing cost. A second shift (40-hour week) was brought forward from mid-summer to

manage cumulative order intake now well in excess of 80k units. Adjacent battery suppliers EVE

and CATL are set to supply nickel-based cells for assembly by BMW, with 40-50% cost reduction

and 30% performance improvement in the 6th generation EV powertrain. Debrecen is prioritizing