Authors

Agnes Szunomar¹;  ¹ Corvinus University of Budapest and IWE CERS, Hungary

Discussion

Chinese EV battery investment in the Visegrad Four Ágnes Szunomar (Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary) To penetrate the European market, optimise transaction costs and avoid possible tariffs and other trade barriers, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) companies are setting up European production centres. When doing so, they tend to choose countries with extensive experience in automotive assembly, therefore Central and Eastern Europe, in particular the Visegrad Four (V4) countries seem to be an ideal location. Although many of the announced EV projects in the V4 are still in the planning stages, a clear pattern is already emerging: most of the investment has been concentrated in the battery segment and Hungary is clearly the number one location. These projects are, however, not always welcomed by locals. Especially battery plants to be built have raised public alarm. The main complaints concern the inflow of guest workers, the lack of upgrading or connection possibilities for Hungarian firms, and the environmental impacts, including soil and air pollution, but also wasting water resources. The debate on the impact of the Chines EV-related projects on V4 economies is, however, still overshadowed by alarmist overtones, lacking in-depth empirical knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to provide such empirical evidence: to examine Chinese investments in EV supply chains in the V4, that is to analyse their motivation of choosing certain V4 countries and to address the impact of Chinese EV manufacturers in the region. By using case studies of Chinese EV (battery) companies investing in Hungary, the research depicts the main characteristics and pull factors of the Chinese EV presence in the V4 and provides answers to the question what are the challenges they pose and the opportunities they provide.