Hungarian automotive industry: week 30 2020
Fotó: Daimler Media
Opel Szentgotthárd and Suzuki Esztergom achieve major production milestones. Kecskemét plant to add hybrid models to production portfolio. Let’s recap what last week brought in Hungary’s automotive sector. Clicking on the highlighted items will open the full stories.
Christian Wolff, plant director at Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary, said that production will once again be ramped up to three shifts at the Kecskemét plant starting on August 1st. He added that the car maker is adding plug-in hybrids (PHEV) to the plant’s production portfolio with the introduction of the CLA 250 e Coupé and the CLA 250 e Shooting Brake models. Furthermore, the serial production of the plug-in hybrid variant of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class is also entering mass production in Kecskemét later this year.
The 10 millionth engine, a three-cylinder turbocharged PureTech power unit, has rolled off the production line at Opel’s Szentgotthárd plant.
The Suzuki plant in Esztergom celebrated the 3.5 millionth Hungarian-made Suzuki car to roll down the production line, a Vitara with a hybrid powertrain.
The town of Pécs inaugurated a new production hall at the Southern Industrial Park of Pécs, built with a HUF 1 billion support.
Győr-based Innovatív Raktárlogisztika Kft. are building a warehouse capable of the storage of lithium-ion batteries with a HUF 700 million investment.
In Q2 2020, Daimler registered a 34 percent decline in car sales compared to the same period last year, resulting in a 29 percent revenue drop. According to various media reports, Daimler are preparing for significant cost-cutting measures as a result.
Czech Škoda Auto reported on a 31.3 percent year-on-year fall in car sales in the first half of the year. In the first six months of 2020, Škoda sold 426,700 cars.
Volkswagen are establishing a proprietary charging network that is scheduled to début alongside the new ID family. The “We Charge” network will provide 150,000 public charging stations to EV owners across Europe.
News broke that VW AG-member Audi are also planning to create a charging network in Europe. Preparations are under way as part of the Artemis project, launched back in May as a programme to promote e-mobility within the VW Group.
The latest financial report by Knorr-Bremse on Q2 2020 results exceeded expectations in light of the current economic downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to preliminary data, the company registered €1.4 billion in revenues in the period between April and June 2020 (Q2 2019: €1.8 billion), while its EBITDA amounted to 17 percent in the same period (Q2 2019: 19.1 percent).
Continental are sticking to their reform campaign launched back in 2019 even during the pandemic, continuously adjusting their financial structuring to lower global car production volumes.
Leadec’s Hungarian subsidiary continued its growth course in 2019: with a 14 percent sales growth, the company registered HUF 8.7 billion in revenues and positive post-tax earnings.
Valeo were not so fortunate. The French supplier registered €1.2 billion in losses, prompting the company to introduce cost cuts and lay off 10 percent of its employees. 12,000 people have already been made redundant due to the pandemic.
