Hungarian automotive industry: week 21 2017 edition

Manufacturers

Peter Kössler, chairman of the Audi Hungaria board of management, announced last week that the production of electric motors and certain elements of the new Q3 model will begin within two weeks.

Serial production is expected to launch next year, while the Győr plant will start manufacturing the Q4 model in 2019.

Ikarus presented their latest development, a liquefied natural gas powered bus, at the 5th CNG&LNG Expert Conference and Automotive Exhibition.

The new model had been developed on the underpinnings of the diesel Ikarus V127, also manufactured by Magyar Autóbuszgyártó Kft. in PKD construction, but is different in various respects.

The most significant change had to be done to the frame, which was modified in various places to accommodate the new drivetrain.

Suppliers

Ecseri Kft., manufacturers of industrial components for the automotive, machine and eletronics sectors, have handed over their latest, HUF 6.25bln (€20m) investment project.

The company has built a new, nearly 18,000sqm production hall, a 3,600sqm office facility, purchased new machinery and established the foundations of prototyping activities within the scopes of a capacity-expansion project.

Established as a family business in 1992 and ahead of a re-branding process and a HUF 700m (€2.25m) investment, today Jankovits Hidraulika are a company with a HUF 1.5bln (€5.6m) annual revenue.

The company will continue their activities under the Jankovits Engineering name. Their message for the industry: "we are ready for the challenges of Industry 4.0".

Service providers

Volán (national public transport) companies could buy nearly 2,000 new buses in the next two years under the framework of the National Bus Manufacturing Action Pan.

On their March 13 general meeting, the National Bus Procurement Committee (NABB) accepted bus procurement agency Volán Buszpark Kft.’s three-year plan to purchase 1,849 new vehicles. Funding will be provided by the Hungarian Ministry for National Economy.

The automotive industry is under constant pressure and duress to continue development due to high consumer demand and environmental requirements.

Thus, the sector is constantly forced to go through changes, bringing new companies along. In order to provide information and easy access to the industry, we will publish the fourth edition of The Great Book of the Hungarian Automotive Industry in 2017.

Industry 4.0 is a widely used concept for every single player in the automotive sector. Róbert Papp (pictured below), managing director of Érd-based Rolatast, has a strong opinion on this industrial phenomenon. According to Mr. Papp, Industry 4.0 means none other than directly controlling and managing a company, even from home.

The first two Siemens Vectron trains have arrived to GYSEV's fleet of trains. A supply contract on the delivery of five and optionally another four electric motor trains was signed back in March by the company and Siemens representatives.

At IVSZ, a conference on corporate innovation, large-business executives shared their views on digitalisation and their efforts to becoming beneficiaries of digital transformation.

Hödlmayer delivered 200,000 vehicles in 2016, registering a HUF 15bln (€48m) turnover. According to a recent agreement, the company offers “pre-delivery” services to one of the premium OEMs, transporting their cars to three different countries.

Education

The 34th International Colloquium of Advanced Manufacturing and Repair Technology in Vehicle Industry was held last week, an event series opened by a professional day held at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).

The event offered insight into the testing of autonomous lorries at the new test track in Zalaegerszeg, long-term emission planning, the development of electronic steering systems and vehicle technologies.

The development of autonomous vehicles has seen vast efforts both in Hungary and worldwide: one of its shining results is the new test track currently under construction in Zalaegerszeg, Zsolt Szalay (pictured below), head of the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), one of the project’s main coordinators, said in an interview published last week on bme.hu.

TechTogether

Earlier on, in February, we already wrote about Arrabona Racing Team’s plans for this year.

The student team from Széchenyi István University is now working full steam to prepare their Formula Student car for the upcoming four races they will attend this year.