Hungarian automotive industry: week 19 2020
Fotó: twitter.com/bmwblog
Nearly all automotive players are reporting on losses in Q1 2020, and the magnitude of the post-pandemic crisis is projected to be larger by the day. In spite of this, the automotive industry is quickly recovering in China, and OEMs have also begun to reopen their plants in Europe, too. Let's recap what the 18th week this year brought in the region's automotive industry. Clicking on the highlighted items will open up the full stories.
Due to a challenging economic situation and declining demand, BMW have decided to postpone the construction of their new production unit in Debrecen by one year. The announcement was made during a press conference on the publication of the company’s quarterly financial report. BMW’s Q1 report revealed a year-on-year profit growth despite a decrease in units sold.
The Audi plant in Győr has been added to VW AG’s new cloud-based industrial service. The Győr unit will be one of the 18 VW plants participating in the programme, developed together with Amazon Web Services.
Contintental has laid off 200 temporary workers. The company’s quarterly report reveals a significant year-on-year revenue drop in Q1 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Moment Zrt. has completed a HUF 400 million project in Dunaújváros to expand production capacities and install new equipment.
Another parts supplier, Yaris Kabin, has also announced plans to build a new unit in the town in Central Hungary. The Turkish company is investing HUF 6.5 billion to build a parts manufacturing plant for agricultural machinery.
The Schaeffler Group has announced a special social assistance programme for its employees in Szombathely and Debrecen to provide support for employees in challenging situations during the pandemic. Eligibility includes the necessity to stay home to provide care for children under the age of 14 or relatives with health issues.
According to the latest sales data by Volkswagen, auto manufacturing is seeing a speedy recovery in China, while in Europe this process is expected to take longer. VW AG-member Skoda has already restarted battery production in Europe, Romania is relaunching car manufacturing activities, and the French PSA group will also soon resume production at its plants.
Siemens is also reporting on losses. Siemens AG reported on a 64 percent decline in profits in the second half of their fiscal year through the end of March.
According to the latest data published by the Hungarian National Toll Payment Services Plc. (NÚSZ Zrt.), passenger car traffic fell by 50 percent in April, while the number of lorries registered in the e-toll system decreased by one-fifth in the same period compared to the same month in the previous year.
Waberer's International Nyrt. reported on €2.5 million net losses (adjusted for non-regular items) in Q1 2020. The report points out that the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected the group’s operating results since the second half of March. Management believes that demand on European haulage services will continue to stay below expectations through the second quarter, too.
The impact of pandemic-induced stoppages is being increasingly felt in the global economy. The British manufacturing industry has hit a record low, Germany-based automotive manufacturers are more pessimistic than ever, and millions have already lost their jobs in the United States.
It is expected, then, that European OEMs are urging the EU to come up with incentives to motivate buyers, and seeing a similar trend in the USA would not be surprising either.
