BYD has signed a preliminary sales and purchase agreement for its planned electric car factory in Szeged, Hungary.

This will be the first passenger car manufacturing facility established in Europe by a Chinese OEM.

Construction of the facility will be in stages, with the factory open and operational within three years, producing a "comprehensive range of eco-friendly models".

"The construction project, and the subsequent opening of the production facility will create thousands of jobs, boosting the local economy while also supporting local supply chains," the automaker claimed.

BYD joins several western premium car makers and leading suppliers with factories in Hungary and has operated an electric bus plant in Komarom since 2016.