BYD Company Limited

On June 5-8, 2026, the US Department of Defense added BYD Company Limited to its Section 1260H list of 'Chinese Military Companies operating in the United States,' citing direct and indirect affiliation with SASAC, indirect affiliation with MIIT, and residence in or affiliation with a military-civil fusion enterprise zone. BYD called the determination a contradiction of facts, said it is 'not a military enterprise,' and stated it would pursue administrative and legal remedies. The listing bars the Defense Department from contracting directly with BYD immediately, and from procuring its products/services through third parties starting June 2027.

A China Labor Watch investigation published April 14, 2026, based on 3 site visits and over 60 interviews since October 2025, found Chinese migrant workers building BYD's Szeged, Hungary EV factory faced 7-day weeks with 12+ hour shifts, debt bondage, illegal visa use, withheld wages, and coercive recruitment practices meeting the ILO definition of forced labor; workers were reportedly directed to lie to Hungarian labor inspectors about hours worked. A worker died on-site during a crane operation in February 2026 and a second worker died June 18, 2026 after being struck by a lorry. The findings were raised in the European Parliament in April 2026, the first time a Chinese-owned automaker's EU labor practices reached that forum, and the European Commission referred the matter to Hungary's Labour Inspectorate. Contractor AIM Construction Hungary Ltd. -- a subsidiary of the firm linked to BYD's 2024 Brazil forced-labor scandal -- was fined 34.5M forints (~$110,350) for occupational safety violations. BYD executive Stella Li denied the labor-abuse allegations.

Brazilian labor inspectors rescued 163 workers from slavery-like conditions at BYD's Camacari, Bahia factory construction site in December 2024; 471 Chinese workers were found to have entered Brazil illegally. Investigators documented passport confiscation, wages sent directly to China, refundable deposits of roughly $900, 10+ hour workdays with no regular rest, one bathroom per 31 workers, and contract clauses allowing unilateral 6-month extensions. Auditors found workers were directly subordinate to BYD despite service contracts with subcontractors Jinjiang and Tecmonta. BYD was added to Brazil's official forced-labor 'Dirty List' in April 2025 and signed a Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC) worth BRL 40 million (~$7.3M) with the Labor Prosecution Office in January 2026; Bahia state prosecutors also filed a lawsuit against BYD and its contractors.