Hungarian automotive industry: week 35
Hungary’s industry is in need of 150,000 skilled labourers and 50,000 engineers, Samsung builds battery plant in Göd. Let’s recap what week 35 brought in Hungary’s automotive industry.
Manufacturers
Last week kicked off with a jubilee: Audi began manufacturing Otto engines 40 years ago.
The first Otto unit, a 136bhp five-cylinder engine was fitted into the second-generation Audi 100 in 1976.
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| Audi produces first Otto engine 40 years ago |
The Volkswagen AG has built a new consolidation centre in Malacky, Slovakia, near Bratislava, to facilitate the efficient flow of products between suppliers and the company’s production units that are located at large distances.
Early in the week, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Berlin that German automotive firms have had a highly positive experience in Hungary, and their trust in the country is unbroken.
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| Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó (right) meets Matthias Wissmann, chairman of the German Association of the Automotive Industry - VDA (right) |
Suppliers
Samsung announced last week to build a battery plant in Hungary, where the company will produce 50,000 batteries annually.
The company giant will build a manufacturing unit in Göd to make batteries for electric vehicles (EV) with a €325 million investment. The project will create 600 new jobs in the country.
The next day, it was revealed by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) why the project is highly beneficial for Hungarian suppliers.
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| Samsung announces giant investment in Göd, Hungary |
József Pálinkás, chairman of the National Research, Development and Innovation Agency (NKFIH), said last week that nearly HUF 200 billion (€645 million) has been allocated for supporting research and development projects in the country.
Service providers
GYSEV has announced to purchase of 10 new motor trains with a €72 mln investment. The railway company signed a supply agreement last week with the Stadler Group on the delivery of 10 new Flirt motor trains.
Stadler has agreed to delivering the first vehicles in March 2018 and the final unit in January 2019.
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| GYSEV makes purchase of 10 Flirt motor trains |
Waberer’s International Zrt. reported last week on a 6.4 percent increase to €276.4 million in its H1 2016 revenues compared to the same period in the previous year.
Richárd Jankovits, CEO of Jankovits Hidraulika Kft. Announced last week that the company’s main production facility will be expanded by a third floor, adding 160 sqm to the total area, allowing the company to hire an addition ten people at the site.
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| Richárd Jankovits of Jankovits Hidraulika Kft. |
Education
For the first time in Hungary, Siemens and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics will launch a master’s course in the dual educational system.
For the last two decades, Siemens has been linked to the university in several different ways.
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| Dr. Pál Lukács, head of the Department of Vehicle Technology at Pallas Athena University |
Hungary’s industry is in need of 150,000 skilled labourers and 50,000 engineers, Dr. Pál Lukács, head of the Department of Vehicle Technology at Pallas Athena University (formerly Kecskemét College) said last week, adding that no matter how many engineers Hungarian universities would train, it will always be insufficient to meet industry requirements.
