Hungarian automotive industry: week 31
With local OEMs going on summer break, Hungary’s automotive industry enters in safe mode. Let’s recap what the first week of August brought in Hungary’s auto sector.
Manufacturers
Audi Hungaria announced a summer shutdown last week to carry out its scheduled maintenance tasks.
Before halting production, the car maker’s Hungarian operation began the mass production of the 400bhp Audi TT RS, the top variant of the TT model family.
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| Audi Hungaria launches mass production of Audi TT RS before summer shutdown |
As opposed to the other two OEMs in the country, the Kecskemét-based Mercedes-Benz plant will not halt production during the summer period.
A few months ago the company held the ground-breaking ceremony of a major expansion project, while two weeks ago Daimler announced to build a second Mercedes-Benz plant in the Hungarian town.
Suzuki announced to stop production between August 8–22, a period the company will use to carry out technology development tasks.
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| Production at Magyar Suzuki Corp. |
Suppliers
Last week, the Rába Group reported on decreasing revenues, EBITDA and operating profit. Consolidated group level sales of the Rába Group reached HUF 20.5 billion in the first half of 2016. The company maintains its solid profitability this year, Rába commented in a press release.
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| Rába reports on decreasing profits in first half of 2016 |
Rába has begun a modernization investment in axle manufacturing based on a financial basis accumulated in the previous years, aiming at further growth potential in the company’s key markets, the company added.
Toolex has carried out an expansion project with a HUF 1 billion investment: the manufacturer of drilling equipment has expanded its production site with an area of 3,000 sq m, and purchased equipment required for the production of solid carbide drills.
Service providers
Last week, we interviewed the CEO of Biesterfeld-Interowa, a company active in the plastics industry, about future challenges of this sector. According to Zoltán Lengyel, Hungary’s dual educational effort is good, but not good enough, and there is little added value coming from Hungarian companies.
Education
In September, 145 engineer students will enrol in Kecskemét at the town’s higher education institute that has recently received a university rank.
TechTogether
Unique track layout, 29 international teams, seven Hungarian prize-winning teams – this is how event director Tamás Csütörtöki summarized the first Formula Student East event.
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| Formula Student East held in Győr |
The four-day event commenced on July 28, where participating teams competed with their self-developed formula single-seaters.
The Formula Student season is fully under way in Europe: in a recent interview the members of BMEmotion made a promise to build a Formula Student car for a future event.
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| Arrabona Racing Team competes at FS Czech Republic |
Formula Student Czech Republic 2016 was held last weekend, lining up as a Hungarian contender Arrabona Racing Team from Széchenyi István University of Győr.
