The China-based electric bus and passenger vehicle manufacturer BYD will be opening a new small-scale electric bus manufacturing plant in Komarom, Hungary, according to recent reports.

Production at the new facility is expected to begin in early 2017 — with initial production quantities being 200 units a year. Plans are to eventually double production to 400 units a year.

While those numbers aren’t particularly aggressive (around 25,000 buses were sold in Europe in 2015), the move by BYD is an important one. The new €20 million investment into the Komarom plant is the first such investment by a China-based electric bus firm into Europe.

With great potential in the European market, BYD could leverage this entry into the market at some later point for rapid growth.

Read full story: Clean Technica