Hungarian automotive industry: week 6
The first week of February saw a visit from German chancellor Angela Merkel, an increase in oil prices and a strengthening forint. Contrary to previous speculations, BMW is not planning to build a plant in Hungary, although that doesn´t stop Hungary´s automotive industry from showing a spectacular performance.
Manufacturers
Angela Merkel's visit to Hungary last week also brought up economy-related questions. The Hungarian press instantly started speculating about a possible BMW expansion in Hungary. The news – as have always been so far – were rejected by the Bavarian car maker.
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| German Chancellor Angela Merkel (middle) meets representatives of German firms operating in Hungary |
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, also met representatives from German firms operating in Hungary. The representatives that took part in the discussion were from the vehicle, machine building, electrical engineering, energy, logistics industries, the media and financial sectors and the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Suppliers
In 2013, Hungary's export value to Russia amounted to USD 3.5 billion. We interviewed Miklós Gerendai, sales and marketing director of Knorr-Bremse Hungary, about the effects of the Ukrainian conflict on exporters.
The Foreign Executive of the Year Award, established by the Budapest Business Journal (BBJ) has been handed to González Pareja, CEO of Bosch Hungary, while the special award of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency has been given to Kersten Bachmann, CEO of Takata Safety Systems Hungary.
The HUF 5.5 billion investment of Linamar Hungary Autóipari és Gépgyártó, handed over in Orosháza last week, will result in a EUR 250 million sales growth for the company.
Analyses
According to Datahouse, in January 2015, 6,232 new passenger cars and LCVs were registered, up 18.8 percent y/y from 2014. The most popular brands are: Ford (909), Opel (737), Volkswagen (636), Skoda (632) and Suzuki (389). Read the full list here.
In the first month this year, 4,872 new passenger cars were registered in Hungary, up 11.4 percent from the same period last year. Over 10 percent of these cars were manufactured at Hungary-based OEMs. Read our report on the most popular Hungarian-built models.
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| BME FRT are developing a 4WD racing car |
Service providers
The town of Székesfehérvár bought a number of modern, albeit used buses. The Central Hungarian Transport Centre (KNYKK) has purchased moderaltely used vehicles at the value of HUF 109 million.
Education
In November 2014, autopro.hu held a team competition for automotive university teams, posing a great challenge to the best engineer students in the country. The winners were BMW Formula Racing Team from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. We interviewed Petra Popovics, team member responsible for communications, about the latest developments at BME FRT.
She pointed out that the team is currently working on a four-wheel drive electric racing car. Although the development of the car is still in the design phase, the team's aim is to achieve a podium finish at Formula Student Hungary. Popovics pointed out that this project is BME FRT's most difficult project yet.
The University of Miskolc and representatives of a number of companies signed a contract last week on the development of dual foundry engineer training and promotion of the higher educational training of foundry engineers.
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| Lada entertains possibility of returning to the European market |
From 2015, BSc students at Budapest Business School taking part in the higher educational institute's dual education programme will spend 22 weeks every year at Bosch Hungary, obtaining nearly 18 months of work experience during their studies as a result. The agreement between Budapest Business School and Bosch Hungary was signed last week.
Economy
By Friday morning, the value of Hungary's currency dropped from 306.67 registered on Thursday to 307.10 against the euro. The forint traded below 306 on Thursday after reaching highs of 309-310 on Monday. Last week, fuel prices increased once again in Hungary.
According to a new report from Brussels, Hungary's economic indices are favourable and our prospects are positive.
After a decline in Q4 2014, the Business Confidence Index is projecting an increase for Q1 2015, reported the Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2014, industrial output increased by 7.4 percent compared to the previous year, reported the Central Statistical Office.
It was also announced last week that AvtoVAZ, manufacturer of Lada cars, is planning to relaunch its models in Europe, including Hungary.
