Hungarian automotive industry: week 26
Last week saw even more drama in the bus industry with industry players pointing the finger at one another but also investments and successes in the Hungarian auto sector. Let’s recap what week 26 brought in Hungary’s automotive industry.
Manufacturers
Audi Hungaria started the summer with a reshuffle in its management. Arnd-Robert Sponagel has been appointed as chief executive responsible for vehicle manufacturing.
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| Arnd-Robert Sponagel |
His predecessor, Gerd Walker will receive a new position at the parent Audi AG.
Economy minister Mihály Varga met the top executives of Audi Hungaria in his office to discuss the Győr-based manufacturer’s long-term plans in the country. Győr will play a definitive role in the new Jedlik Programme: Audi also has plans to manufacture electric motors in Hungary.
Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. has begun the construction of a new 8,000 sqm production hall as preparation for launching the serial production of the Q3 model in 2018.
Suzuki Esztergom is forced to recall thousands of SX4 S-Cross cars due to a defect in the side airbags that could cause malfunction.
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| Suzuki recalls Hungarian-made cars |
Last week saw more drama in the bus industry as Dávid Vitézy, the ex-boss of Budapest transport company BKK, accused the president of the Association of Hungarian Bus and Coach Manufacturers with lying about the former management of BKK not trusting Hungarian-made buses, which he claimed was the reason for the lack of orders.
Not only did Sándor Vincze-Pap refute the accusations but also forecasted positive prospects during an interview with Autopro. Vincze-Pap said facts are not lying, so far there has been simply no domestic demand on Hungarian-built vehicles.
Suppliers
Bosch has been chosen as the R&D investor of the year 2015. The company has a great vision for the future and plans to be a global supplier of autonomous technologies, Oliver Schatz, senior vice-president for technical affairs, said in an interview with our site.
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| Oliver Schatz |
Japan-based Shinwa group has plans to invest HUF hundreds of millions in its Miskolc plant, which now manufactures automotive products for U.S.-made vehicles.
Skills shortage is not exactly a new problem for Hungarian firms. However, it is rather absurd that a company in Nógrád country was reportedly forcedd to transfer employees from Mexico (!) due to the unavailability of a well trained workforce.
Valeo plant director Levente Fonyódi said that in the next three years the company will carry out a €33 million investment in Veszprém, creating 180 new jobs as a result.
Service providers
Trainings are already under way at Himile Székesfehérvár. Chinese engineers are training the Hungarian workforce with the help of interpreters to produce vulcanized tyre moulds used for manufacturing tyres.
Valentin Pécsi, the CEO of Himile Europe told us why the Chinese tyre producer chose Hungary as a location for the company’s European headquarters.
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Varinex Informatikai Zrt. are able to print anything from metal raw material. The company was one of the starts of the Industry Days exhibition. We interviewed Varinex president György Falk about their experiences with the technology and its potential applications.
IBM Data Storage Systems Kft. has announced to expand its Székesfehérvár-based service centre with a HUF 3.2 billion (€10 million) investment.
Creating 410 positions for highly qualified professionals at the company, the market-leading IT firm’s investment is another proof of the tendency that SSCs are increasingly established outside of Budapest.
Following György Wáberer’s retirement two weeks ago, Ferenc Lajkó has been appointed CEO of Waberer’s International Nyrt., who has worked at the company for 15 years.
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| Ferenc Lajkó |
He said that although the company would like to remain a Hungarian-based firm, they have plans to carry out acquisitions abroad. They already have offices throughout Europe but now they are also planning to establish sites in foreign countries.
British firms are expected to take HUF 8,000 billion back with them after relocating back to the United Kingdom. Nearly 3,000 companies in Hungary are in British interest with British firms or individuals in their ownership, and these are expected to be affected by Brexit more than anything else.
The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency held an investor forum in Düsseldorf dubbed “Focus on Hungary”. The event’s aim was to promote the Hungarian investor environment for potential Japanese investors.
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The ITC Association of Hungary (IVSZ) says everyone should understand what the Internet of Things (IoT) stands for. Digital transformation is unavoidable, but the association must be able to explain this process on every level, Vilmos Beskid, R&D director at Ericsson and the newly elected leader of the IoT workgroup, said last week.
Education
The Audi Hungaria Department of Internal Combustion Engines of Széchenyi István University held a Tribology Conference last week with the focus on friction, wear and lubrication.
100 leading engineers from all over Europe met in Győr to discuss the latest developments in this field.
