Hungarian automotive industry: week 48
Last week we presented official photos and specifications of the new Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake. Miskolc University and Nemak signed a partnership agreement to train foundry engineers, while the government was lobbying in South Korea for more investments from Asia. Last week also saw plummeting oil prices.
Manufacturers
Last week, Mercedes-Benz published official photos and the specifications of the latest model to be manufactured at the premium car maker's Kecskemét plant, the CLA Shooting Brake.
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| Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake |
The product range of Hungarian car manufacturing has expanded with a new model. The previous addition was the Audi TT Roadster, while the next model to be introduced in a Hungary-based plant is the Suzuki Vitara.
Suppliers
South Korean Automotive parts manufacturer Woory Industries will build its tenth production plant in Komárom, Hungary. The announcement was made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Soul at a South Korean-Hungarian business forum.
Half of the government paid a visit to the Asian country. Besides PM Viktor Orbán and Minister of Foraign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, the Minister of National Economy, the Minister of Human Resources and the director of the Hungarian Innovation Promotion Agency also visited the event in South Korea.
The aim of the discussions was to further stimulate investments in Hungary and to establish an educational collaboration between the two countries. PM Orbán Viktor also held talks with the leaders of Hankook, Hyundai and Samsung.
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| South Korea-based Woory Industrial to build new plant in Komárom, Hungary |
Last week, Continental launched the mass production of a new driving safety device at its Budapest plant. The leading global supplier launched the production of a new electronics product at its Kőbánya (Budapest) plant last week with a HUF 1.4 billion investment.
Last week, we visited Rehau's Győr-based plant, where the bumpers of the Audi TT and the A3 are manufactured.
Szombathely-based clutch systems manufacturer LuK Savaria held an open day last week. The company believes that there is an increasing interest in machine cutter and automation technician professions, although the number of applicants still hasn't met their requirements.
Jean-Marc Meunier, the president-CEO of AGC Glass Europe, said at a year-closing event held at the company's Tatabánya-based automotive glass plant that their strategic agreement signed with Daimler is partly a result of the German premium OEM's satisfaction with the company's high-quality products.
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| Rehau manufactures bumpers for the Audi TT in Győr |
Not everyone is so optimistic though. Automotive metal components manufacturer Titán '94 Kft. celebrated its 20th anniversary on October 20. The CEO told autopro.hu that in his experience retiring professionals are not being replaced by young engineers.
Education
Last week, Győr-based Nemak has concluded a partnership with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Information Technology of Miskolc University on the training foundry casting engineers. It poses an interesting challenge that theory will be taught at Miskolc University, while the students will spend their internships at Nemak, in Győr.
Service providers
Car-sharing is making the lives of taxi operators much harder. The State Secretary for economic management held discussions with the representatives of taxi operators and defence organisations on the Uber service.
Fuel prices are decreasing and the trend is likely to continue. Except for more the most expensive stations, the fuel of diesel dropped below HUF 400 per litre last week.
Economy
In August-October 2014, the number of employed people was 4,184,000 in the age group of people between 15 and 74, 192,000 more than a year ago. The employment rate of people aged 15–64 increased to 62.9%, reported the Central Statistical Office.
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| Decreasing oil prices are not only about cheaper fuels |
Analysts say that a GDP growth of 3 percent is expected in Hungary in 2014, while they a prognosticating a 3 percent deficit in public financing. Low oil prices are also beneficial for our country.
Decreasing oil prices are primarily a result of a decision made by OPEC on Thursday not to decrease their mining quota in the next six months. The country benefitting the least from the step is Russia, who are already preparing for survival in this "tight" year.
The forint was consistent against the euro last week: it showed a steady decrease. The Hungarian currency declined from 304 registered on Monday to 306.5 by Friday afternoon, with pikes into the regions of 307.5 during the course of the week.
