Hungarian automotive industry: week 13

Manufacturers

The European Commission's alert system called for a recall last week. According to the document, Mercedes CLA and B-Class models carry a potential hazard and need to be recalled.

We reached out to the brand's local branch and they confirmed our premise that the affected models were manufactured in Hungary.

Suzuki registered an outstanding quarter in sales in Hungary, with registrations driven by the new Vitara model, manufactured in Hungary.

Although it is still not fully certain at the time of writing of this article, it is likely that the strike call at Audi Hungaria will be cancelled, as the trade union and the management have issued a positive statement.

Suppliers

Nearly 700 workers held a warning strike at Autoliv after the management and the trade union had still been unable to agree on this year's wage increase.

FHI Björn Hungary, a Mór-based producer of automotive components and supplier of the VW group, is expanding its production capacity with a €3 million investment thanks to a boost in order volumes.

Paul Kahn, the chairman of Airbus Group UK paid a visit to Hungary to promote B2B relations under the framework of the Mega Mission initiative.

We made an interview with Kahn at the British Embassy on the networking opportunities of Hungarian firms, the challenges of Industry 4.0 and other topics such as brexit. Kahn says British firms see a huge potential in Hungarian suppliers.

It was announced last week that Ajkai Elektronikai Kft. and AE-Plasztik Kft. will receive a HUF 170 million development aid from the Hungarian government – this time not from EU funds but a budget for large business investments.

Service providers

Homatech Recycling Zrt. has announced to build a tyre waste recycling plant in Kaposvár by 2018 with a HUF 16 billion investment.

The strike calls at Audi Hungaria and Autoliv suggest that the automotive industry is ahead of a transformation. In an interview with Béla Balogh, chairman of Vasas Trade Union, we discussed the possible outcomes and solutions.

Evopro, developer of an award-winning modular bus, has been awarded with the Innovation Grand Prize for a railway load test system.

Evopro awarded with innovation grand prize

The most outstanding investors of 2015 have been honoured with the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency's (HIPA) Investor of the Year award. The seven awardees include domestic and international firms.

The first intelligent car parks are here. A new system handed over by National Mobile Payment Zrt. in Kecskemét provides real-time information for motorists on the availability of parking spaces.

First smart car park in Kecskemét

Education

Previously we interviewed Attila Kerekes as the team leader of a vehicle builder team at Óbuda University. Today, he works as a trainer as the director of Opel's knowledge centre.

On May 6th, Pneumobil race will be held in Eger, lining up a number of international teams competing with their compressed-air powered vehicles.

Investors of the Year 2015 award ceremony held

Miskolc University will send five teams to the competition. We interviewed Szabolcs Szőnyi, leader of the Dairp Team, on what makes a graduate engineer come back to participate in the race.

Economy

According to a survey published last week, three out of ten German companies regretted their decision to come to Hungary.

Teams in preparation for this year's Pneumobil

Hungary's competitiveness have seen a decline in several aspects compared to other countries in the region.

Hungary is fourth out of the six countries based on rankings in socio-economic development, demography, labour market, education and productivity, the research leader from GKI said at the conference "Hungary's Competitiveness with a Regional Outlook", held last week.