Chinese Giant Manufactoring for Tesla to Expand Operations in Miskolc

Chinese-owned Halms, manufacturing components for electric vehicles, is building a new plant in Hungary worth HUF 80 billion (EUR 198 million), Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced on Monday in Budapest. Halms, a world leader in the manufacture of drive trains for electric vehicles, will now build a plant in Miskolc, after Debrecen (both eastern Hungary). The company plans to create over a thousand new jobs in the city.

Péter Szijjártó emphasized at the press event that the company will significantly boost Hungary’s economic performance and the technological level of our country’s economy, as well as further strengthen Hungarian suppliers. He pointed out that Halms also intends to rely heavily on the University of Miskolc. He expressed his delight at this, pointing out that closer cooperation between the business community and higher education institutions is in the fundamental interests of the national economy.

The minister explained that over the past fifteen years, investments in the automotive industry have driven the Hungarian economy, and today the sector employs 160,000 people and has an annual production value of more than HUF 13,000 billion (EUR 32 billion). He also recalled that since 2010, the government has provided support for 244 automotive investments, helping to create a total of 61,000 jobs.

Péter Szijjártó. Photo: MTI/Kocsis Zoltán

The politician said it was particularly good news that Hungary has now become one of China’s most respected economic partners in Europe.

It is no exaggeration to say that Chinese companies consider Hungary to be the most important and most popular investment destination,”

he emphasized. To support this, he said that after 2020 and 2023, China was again the source of the most investments in Hungary last year.

“Over the past 15 years, we have supported 64 major Chinese investments, which have brought a total of HUF 5,500 billion (EUR 13.6 billion) and tens of thousands of new jobs to Hungary. Today, four of the ten largest Chinese investments in Europe are being implemented in Hungary. In the past two years, Hungary has also received the most Chinese investments in Europe,” he said.

Halms’ investment will be implemented in the Miskolc Southern Science and Technology Park, on the industrial site of NIPÜF Zrt., covering an area of more than 100,000 square meters,

reads a statement by the Miskolc City Council. The project, to be implemented in three phases over several years, will create 300 new jobs in Miskolc by 2027.

They recalled that

Halms built its automotive processing plant in Debrecen in 2023, where it mainly manufactures engine housings and components from aluminum alloys for global brands such as Volvo and Tesla.

They indicated that the company’s owner, the Huashuo Group, had decided to relocate its manufacturing processes to Hungary in addition to its processing operations, establishing the group’s European headquarters and production base in Miskolc, where the company will manufacture medium and large aluminum high-pressure castings and machined parts for the automotive industry.

In the announcement, Matthew Shen, managing director of Halms Hungary Kft. and Huashuo Technology, said that the plant could produce 1-2 million automotive components per year, mainly for drive units, power transmission and structural systems. Only recycled aluminum will be used for production. They intend to rely on local labor as much as possible and are also planning to establish a supply chain with local companies.

Matthew Shen praised the University of Miskolc for boasting Hungary’s leading metallography program. He said Halms sees this as a unique opportunity to align its technological ambitions with local academic excellence, talent development, and the training of a skilled local workforce.

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