Hungarian automotive industry: week 17 2017 edition
Tesla to build charger in Győr before the end of the year. Autoliv management makes agreement with strike committee about wages, Komárom-based Alumetal to supply new Jaguar plant in Slovakia. Mercedes Kecskemét report on record-breaking results. Let’s recap what last week brought in Hungary’s automotive sector.
Manufacturers
Tesla will build their first Supercharger in Hungary. Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric car company, have announced to finally build a charging station in Hungary. The Supercharger, to be built in Győr, Győr-Moson-Sopron county, is planned to enter operation at the end of the year, according to the information found in the map section on the company’s website.
In 2016, Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft. produced nearly 190,000 vehicles in Kecskemét, 3.8 percent more than in 2015, and registered a revenue of €3.4 billion, also a slight increase from the previous year, the company’s CEO said in Budapest last week.
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Suppliers
Tolna-based Fastron Hungaria Kft. have increased their headcount and revenues by nearly ten percent, and are planning further expansion, the company’s CEO said last week. According to Károly Mayer, the company booked a revenue of HUF 6.5 bln (€21m) in 2016, up from HUF 5.9 bln (€19m) in 2015, 80 percent of which originated from sales on the Western European market, while at the same time also increased their headcount from 498 to 540.
Cylinder head manufacturer QP Gépipari és Kereskedelmi Zrt. and Ge-Co Hungary Kft., a company engaged in the distribution of machinery, have maintained a strong partnership for the last 15 years.
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Their exemplary collaboration has now reached a new milestone, the Győr-based automotive supplier have tasked the distributor of the largest Japapanese, American and Turkish brands’ metalworking machinery to carry out a fully-automated project.
The second half of the week brought a wage agreement between the management of Sopronkövesd-based Autoliv Kft., the labour union and the workers’ strike committee formed a little over a week before that. The agreement will bring about a HUF 20,000 (€64) pay rise to all workers.
Komárom-based Alumetal will supply the new Jaguar Land Rover plant in Slovakia to be inaugurated in 2018 with aluminium components through suppliers, Alumetal CEO told Autopro last week.
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Although the trailer of a smart truck is not yet able to drive itself, it is capable of saving itself from such critical situations that used to end with the vehicle rolling over, Péter Koleszár, head of the trailer division at Knorr-Bremse Fékrendszerek Kft., told us in an interview at the company’s Budapest R&D centre.
Service providers
How can we develop our production with high-tech automation tools in a cost-effective way? What financing options exist and how can we make an industry 4.0 programme successful? You will find the answers at the Smart Factory ConnAction conference in Győr between May 31 and June 2.
The recommendations included in a proposal made by nine Hungarian logistics organisation to the Hungarian government could result in a surplus in national revenue of over HUF 100 bln (approx. €300m).
Education
The Association of Hungarian Talent Support Organizations awarded Knorr-Bremse Fék-rendszerek Kft. with the “Genius Loci” Award.
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SZEnergy Team recruits new driver. Their previous, rather experienced pilot has found employment, and now the main task for the team from Széchenyi István University is to make sure their pilot gains as much experience as possible to drive their energy-efficient vehicle.
Trend
This year’s Busexpo, held for the fifth time in Zsámbék, was again more of an event for enthusiasts than industry experts, but nevertheless we still found interesting messages reading between the lines.
