Hungarian automotive industry: week 11 2017 edition
Audi report on decreasing revenues, Hungarian government in talks with new Opel owner to secure further growth at Hungarian plant. Let’s recap what the 11th week of the year brought in Hungary’s automotive sector.
Manufacturers
The Hungarian government has entered into talks with Opel and its new owner, the French PSA Group, in order to ensure maintained capacities and further expansions at the Szentgotthárd plant, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said after talks with the Opel management at the car maker’s Rüsselsheim headquarters.
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In the meantime, Opel Szentgotthárd were celebrating an important anniversary: the first car manufactured at the Szentgotthárd plant rolled off the production line 25 years ago.
This industrial background has greatly contributed to the fact that in recent years Opel have been one of the highest-selling marques in Hungary.
In 2016, Audi Hungaria’s revenue decreased by 10 percent. After registering €7.906 bln in revenues in 2015, the company’s books recorded €7.136 bln last year, it was revealed at a press conference held at the Audi AG’s head offices in Ingolstadt, where they also revealed information about the bonuses the company’s Hungarian staffers would receive.
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Suppliers
Sanmina are looking to increase wages in Hungary to an unprecedented degree in 2017. The Tatabánya-based company have increased both their sales volume and headcount in 2016. This year, the company is planning to shift focus on automation and further growth, CEO Dr. Károly Hoffmann, has told our site.
Hi-Lex Hungary Kábelrendszer Gyártó Kft., the Hungarian manufacturing site of Japanese Hi-Lex, is developing new-generation window winder systems.
The company has received a HUF 155.7m (€0.5m) grant for the HUF 362.4m (€1.16m) project from Széchenyi 2020 funds in a project called “Supporting Business R&D&I Activities”.
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Services industry
“Automotive wages must increase,” Wolfgang Lemb, head of the trade union confederation IG Metall, told autopro.hu in an interview in Kecskemét.
“The automotive industry has found its bearings,” István Lepsényi, state secretary of the Ministry of National Economy responsible for economy development and management, said last week, adding that the automotive sector has produced an over 8 percent growth, the output of finished vehicles has grown by 3.9 percent, while accessories manufacturing has increased by more than 11 percent.
TechTogether
Students from Óbuda University are working on a new vehicle for international energy race Shell Eco-marathon, to be held in late-May.
The team is working on a slim wheel cover housing to reduce air resistance.
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