Hungarian automotive industry: week 32
Last week saw the ever-increasing effects of the crisis in Russia and Ukraine, Audi Hungaria hired its 11,000th employee, Rába reported on excellent results and announced an agreement with Volvo to produce fire engines, while several trade union trusts protested at Hankook´s Rácalmás plant.
Manufacturers
On August 6, Audi Hungaria hired its 11,000 employee. Car mechanic Gergő Benjamin Csécsi, 21, will start his career at the company´s new car plant. In 2014, Audi Hungaria has hired 796 new employees so far.
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| Audi Hungaria hires 11,000th employee |
Audi is planning to make its electric turbo diesel system reality. Audi presented its electric turbocharger for diesel engines and Mercedes-Benz is not far behind. It was reported that the electric superchargers would be supplied by Valeo.
Last week, Volvo Group Governmental Sales (VGGS) signed an agreement with Hungarian vehicle manufacturer Rába to assemble fire engines.
Other commercial vehicles may also bring profits to the largest state-owned automotive manufacturer. It seems the Siemens-Rampini-Rába consortium is the likely winner of the competition to supply buses to Buda Castle as the sole competitors with a valid offer.
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| Rába to assemble fire engines in collaboration with Volvo |
Rába closed the first half of 2014 with consolidated, group level sales of HUF 26.9 billion, registering a 13.3 percent growth in the first six months this year.
The performance of the Győr-based company continued to be influenced by unfavourable market trends caused by the Ukrainian crisis and Rába is not the only one.
German brands, previously flourishing on the Russian market, are deeply affected by the long and more and more serious crisis in Ukraine. Daimler's president Dieter Zetsche is fearing a visible influence on the car maker's performance.
VW's Martin Winterkorn shares his opinion. According to Winterkorn, the biggest challenges for VW right now are the difficult market environment, fierce competition, changing interest and currency rates and unstable raw material prices.
Suppliers
American supplier giant Delphi, also present in Hungary with a manufacturing site, registered a significant growth in 2014 H1.
On August 4, several national trade union trust members protested against the unjust dismissal of a Hankook employee at Hankook Tire Hungary Kft's Rácalmás-based tyre plant.
Last week it was revealed that Graboplast Zrt. will be transformed into a public limited-reliability company, although the IPO of the Győr-based flooring systems manufacturer is not certain yet.
Last week, we visited a Hungarian Boeing-supplier. Érd-based Ostorházi Kft.'s activities include surface finishing for railway vehicles as well as special projects for the aviation industry.
ABB accepted the Hungarian Ministry of National Development's proposal to take part in an R&D project to popularise e-mobility in Hungary. The project's aim is to bring 3.5 million electric cars to Hungary's roads by 2050.
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| Protesting trade union members at Hankook's Rácalmás plant |
The local public transport company in Miskolc announced last week that it is selling used trams and midi buses.
It was announced last week that oil firm Lukoil is withdrawing from the region, selling its Hungarian, Slovakian and Czech networks.
Not only European car manufacturers are worrying about the situation in Ukraine. The Hungarian-Russian Department of the Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (MKIK) says it would be advisable to summon the Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental committee in October to review the situation that has emerged in the previous months.
Last week we reported on the Hungarian and European new car registrations in the first seven months this year, presenting the most and least popular models in Hungary and on the continent.
Education
József Bódis, the Rector of the University of Pécs, was elected as the new chairman of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference.
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| TechTogether: bringing together the future of Hungary's automotive industry |
It's almost autumn, which will be about the future of the automotive industry. Between November 5 and 7, 18 teams from eight universities will compete against each other at Techtogether, where besides the students, automotive companies are also in for some winnings. Read our introduction to the event.
Economy
In June 2014 – according to preliminary data – industrial gross output rose by 11.3% compared to the same month of 2013, both according to the index adjusted by working days and the non-adjusted one, reported Hungary's Central Statistical Office (KSH).
Unfortunately, Hungary's currency is not in such a good state. The forint further declined against the euro last week, dropping to 317 during the course of the week and settling at 314 by Friday afternoon.
