Hungarian automotive industry: week 50 2017 edition
Inter Traction Electrics Kft. unveils first member of new bus family, opens training and development centre in Debrecen. Let’s recap what the last productive week of 2017 brought in Hungary’s unstoppable automotive industry.
Manufacturers
Inter Traction Electrics Kft. has presented the first member of its new bus family, and inaugurated its training, development and testing centre in Debrecen.
Inter Traction Electrics Kft. signed a long-term partnership with Daimer-member EvoBus Hungária Kft. back in 2016. The Reform 500 LE is one of the results of their cooperation.
Built on Mercedes-Benz underpinnings, the 12-metre long, 3-door low-floor suburban bus is powered by a Euro6-compliant diesel engine and a six-speed automatic transmission, which make it meet the strictest environmental guidelines.
Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó holds talks with Tesla. The minister of foreign affairs and trade paid a visit to San Francisco last week, where he met Tesla’s director of business development and legal affairs. Mr. Szijjártó said the aim of the meeting was to bring Hungary to the Tesla management’s attention.
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The west coast of the United States offers unique opportunities for Hungary both from the aspects of national economy and national strategy, which is why Mr. Szijjártó paid a visit the Tesla plant and the most important IT firms located in the San Francisco region.
Suppliers
Videoton Holding Zrt.’s consolidated revenues are expected to exceed HUF 170 billion in 2017, the group’s president and CEO announced at the company’s annual end-of-year press event. Since 2013, wages at Videoton have increased by 40 percent in real terms, indicating a dynamic and substantial adjustment course for salaries.
This year, the award “For the Economy of Székesfehérvár” was given to Zoltán Egerszegi, the former CEO of tooling manufacturer HTM Szerszámgyártó Zrt. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Denso Gyártó Magyarország Kft. has been presented with mayoral honour.
Videoton EAS Kft. is building a new production hall in Székesfehérvár with a HUF 5 billion investment, financed from the company’s own resources, which is expected to create hundreds of jobs. An additional HUF 2-2.5 billion will be spent on technological development.
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Attila Bíró, the CEO of Kecskemét-based Knorr-Bremse Fékrendszerek Kft., has received a title called “For the Economic Development of Bács-Kiskun County 2017” from the local chamber of industry and commerce. According to last year’s net revenues, the company ranks third in the county’s 100 largest businesses.
Kunszentmárton-based plastic processer looking for fresh labour force. NP Hungária is the largest subsidiary of its parent company both in terms of production volume and headcount. It is a major employer in the region, a solid business that has been employing people from Kunszentmárton and its vicinity for 13 years.
Valeo is expanding its Veszprém-based production and R&D complex with a greenfield investment. The HUF 18.5 billion development project is expected to create 220 jobs.
To be completed within a year, the facility will also be the target of the company’s €59.7 million investment package, expected to be carried out by 2020.
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Adient has inaugurated a 12,000sqm production hall at the business park located near Székesfehérvár.
Service providers
The Dennis Gabor Awards were handed out last week at the Parliament, acknowledging 13 scientists, researchers and inventors for their exceptional achievements.
Similarly to previous years, the list of awardees included several automotive professionals. György Falk, the CEO of Varinex, was among them, who was acknowledged for establishing the technology of 3D printing in Hungary.
Analyses
Hungary’s automotive industry has doubled its production volume. In October, the volume of industrial production increased by 7.6 percent, while in the first ten months of 2017, a 5.4 percent growth was registered.
The automotive sector’s performance grew by 37 percent since January 2010, while since 2014, it has seen a 20.3 percent rise.
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Production line
Today, competition is fierce not only for customers but also for labourers – this trend is also affecting businesses such as Titán ‘94.
TechTogether
We interviewed Zoltán Pusztai, the team captain of SZEnergy Team, at the 4th Techtogether Automotive Hungary. The young graduate told us that the student competition enabled him to meet companies that he found highly attractive.
This has been our last weekly recap of the Hungarian automotive industry in the year 2017. The Autopro.hu staff wishes all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We will be back with more news and analyses from Hungary's automotive sector in 2018.
