Hungarian automotive industry: week 4 2019 edition
Last Thursday saw the start of a major strike at Audi Hungaria, which has crippled production both in Győr and Ingolstadt. Although it is downtime for Audi, the rest of the car industry is at full steam. Let’s recap what the previous week brought in Hungary’s automotive industry.
The Audi Hungaria union has announced a strike with a magnitude never seen before in Hungary’s private sector, stopping work at the Győr-based plant for one week, starting on January 24th. Workers and management have set down to negotiate numerous times, so far unsuccessfully.
The Szentgotthárd plant will soon launch the serial production of PSA’s 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder Pure Tech turbocharged petrol engine. Test production is projected to begin in September, while serial production is expected to launch at Szentgotthárd before the end of the year, in December.
Japan-based GS Yuasa’s new battery plant in Miskolc is expected to start production in the second half of the year. Miskolc is the only plant outside of Japan where the company will produce these batteries. The Borsod town had been chosen thanks to its well organised infrastructure and highly trained labour force.
Tatabánya-based Otto Fusch is set to manufacture 1,400,000 wheel products for the global market this year. The plant supplies all OEM wheels fitted on the BMW i3. Last year, this model sold more than 130,000 units. In addition, two new products have been added to the plant’s portfolio: the Audi e-Tron and the Porsche Taycan. (Pictured above: Tibor Menyhárt, Marcus Elkenkamp and Zoltán Szentesi with an Audi e-Tron wheel).
Specimpex Kft. has won a HUF 299 million non-refundable grant from European Union funds for the development of aircraft protection systems. The “Mirázs” on-board aircraft protection system can be used to protect against infrared-controlled homing missiles in helicopters and air planes.
Foreign automotive R&D firms could also profit from the new neutron lab, currently under construction in Martonvásár. An international invitation to tender will soon be announced for a hydrogen particle accelerator, which will power the neutron source.
The serial production of 70 IC+ railway coaches for inland use is already under way, with five units already in operation, while an additional 20 IC+ coaches for international transport will enter operation in the first half of 2019. According to a MÁV-Start communication from March last year, a single unit of the company’s first proprietary “IC+” railway coach consists of 53,000 parts, and is made under 5,500 man hours.
The government’s investment development programme, set to assists local SMEs, continues in 2019 with a HUF 3 billion allocation.
Poland-based Etisoft, engaged in Industry 4.0 solutions, has opened a new division in Hungary. We published an interview with the company’s CEO last week. Click here to read the entire interview in English.
