Hungarian automotive industry: week 37
The 37th week this year saw a yet again weak forint and important geopolitical events. In automotive news, the 100,000th car has rolled off the production line at Audi Hungaria, the 4 millionth Swift has been sold and the first Hungarian-made electric-powered bus has been unveiled.
Manufacturers
The 100,000th car has been manufactured since the launch of mass production at Audi Hungaria's new vehicle plant in Győr, Hungary. The 100,000th car is a glacier white Audi S3 Sedan. The car, featuring a red interior and powered by a 2.0-litre TFSI engine manufactured in Győr, has been sold in the U.S.
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| 100,000 cars from Audi Hungaria |
The Audi A3 Sedan has been in production at the company since June 2013, the A3 Cabriolet since last October, while the new-generation TT entered mass production just a few weeks ago. Thanks to high demand on these cars, the company introduced the third shift at the plant in August.
Daimler's Mercedes-Benz unit is reorganizing its manufacturing operations along vehicle architectures to improve flexibility, lift productivity and reduce fixed costs in order to limit investments for each model line, announced the company last week. This will also affect the manufacturer's Kecskemét site.
Evopro's new electric bus was unveiled last week, capable of transporting up to 64 people. The battery-powered electric bus consumes 60kW/h energy in 100 kilometres.
Last, week Suzuki celebrated the 4 millionth Swift sold worldwide. It took nine years and nine months for Suzuki to sell 4 million Swifts worldwide.
Suzuki Esztergom is delivering limited-edition SX4 S-Cross cars to the German market. The limited edition model features several extras.
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| Limited-edition SX4 S-Cross from Esztergom to the German market |
Suppliers
The largest investment in recent years has been handed over in Maklár, Hungary. ZF Lenksysteme's new production hall was built in just 327 day thanks to a well-organised and harmonised construction project. The manufacture of electric steering systems will soon start at the new production hall.
The company will produce high-quality EPSapa electric steering gears on multiple production lines at a new, 26,000-square-metre hall, built as a greenfield project.
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| EPSapa steering systems from ZF Lenksysteme to be manufactured in Maklár, Hungary |
Last week, the European Commission has greenlighted a regional investment aid totalling EUR 95.7 million to Apollo Tyres Hungary Kft. for the construction of a tyre plant in Gyöngyöshalász, Hungary.
TechTogether
Only two months are left until TechTogether student competition, organized by our site. Between November 5 and 7, eight university teams will compete with each other at an event held within the scopes of Automotive Hungary.
Last week we introduced two university teams from the capital. Óbuda University's vehicle is capable of running 566 kilometres from one single litre of petrol. The team has participated in every single Shell Eco-marathon since 2008.
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| BME FRT was the first Hungarian team to compete in the Formula Student series |
The BME Formula Racing Team from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics holds a record in the history of university competitions. In 2007 BME FRT was the first Hungarian team to have competed in a Formula Student race.
Education
The University of Debrecen's Faculty of Technology has developed an electric waste collection vehicle with an investment of HUF 440 million, said Edit Szűcs, the Dean of the Faculty.
Industry
In July 2014, industrial gross output grew by 12.3% compared to the same month in 2013. The manufacture of transport equipment contributed primarily to the expansion, reported the Central Statistical Office (KSH).
Industrial export increased by 12.6 percent in the first seven months this year and 15.3 percent compared to the same period in 2013. In July, the export of transport equipment manufacturing, accounting for almost one third of the export of Hungary's entire export volume, rose by 32 percent.
Loans
The corporate sector's credit volume decreased by HUF 82.1 billion in July, while looking at transactions we can see a HUF 35.4 billion decline in the volume of corporate loans. The volume of loans in HUF increased by HUF 3.8 billion, while that of foreign currency loans decreased by HUF 38.8 billion.
Forint
Last Tuesday, the forint drew near to its lowest point this year, plummeting to 317.18 against the euro. By Friday morning, Hungary's currency dropped from the level of 313.67 against the euro registered on Monday to 314.21.
R&D
In the successive European Union budget cycle, Hungary will have EUR 2.1 billion to spend on research and development (R&D), double of what was available in the previous budget period, said Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga last week.
