“If today in Hungary a company is capable of manufacturing six buses in seven days, it indicates that Hungarian bus manufacturing is experiencing its renaissance”, Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said in Mosonmagyaróvár at the official delivery of the Kravtex-Kühne bus factory’s two thousandth Credobus.

The Minister highlighted the fact that one of the government’s goals is to replace six thousand buses used in city and regional transport within the next seven years.

“The Government is currently also examining the possibility of only putting into commission electric buses or vehicles with other kinds of environmentally friendly drives in settlements with populations of over 25 thousand people in three years’ time”, the Minister said.

He added that this requires the examination of which is the optimal solution, because  various requirements arise with relation to both types. Amongst others, in the case of electric buses a suitable recharging network is required with enough capacity, and it is also important that the buses should be easily serviced.

He emphasised that this is all supported by the Bus Strategy, which on the one hand states that the Government would like to replace the 8500 buses with an average age of 14 and 15 years currently in operation in Hungary with buses that are manufactured in Hungary if possible, and which are environmentally friendly and equipped with advanced passenger safety systems.

With relation to numbers and drive trains, we are in possession of all kinds of technology to enable buses operating here to be manufactured in Hungary”, the Minister said.

“Hungarian bus manufacturing cannot relate exclusively to Hungary, however; export capability is also important, as is the fact that manufacturing should occur with a higher level of domestic added value. An excellent example of this is the Kravtex-Kühne Group, because they manufacture their buses using eighty percent domestic added value”, Mr. Palkovics said.

At the event held to mark the 20th anniversary of the Group’s bus manufacturing and the ceremonious completion of its two thousandth Credobus, Managing Director of Kravtex Ltd. István Krankovics told the press that the ultra-light construction Econell 12 suburban model is one of the company group’s most popular vehicles, and can be found in the fleet of every regional transport centre, including Volánbusz. Every third bus used in inter-city transport is currently a Credobus, he stated.

The Manging Director added that service providers are achieving a total of over two billion forints (EUR 6.24 million) in fuel savings by using these buses, as a result of which they are reducing their carbon dioxide emissions by some 16 thousand tons.

Mr. Krankovics told reporters that within the framework of the company’s three-billion-forint (EUR 9.36 million) self-financed investment project, it has increased the size of its production hall in Győr by one thousand square metres and modernised its foundry, while the company group has spent over ten billion forints (EUR 31.2 million) on bus manufacturing to date.

CEO of Kühne Agricultural Machinery Plant Cls. Csaba Süli added that within the framework of the investment programme the production area in Mosonmagyaróvár has been increased by four thousand square metres, in addition to which employee accommodation is also being constructed.

The company group began manufacturing buses in 1991 and currently produces 250-300 buses-a-year. The company employs six hundred people.

In 2019, the company is expected to order a total of some 1.5 billion forints (EUR 4.7 million) worth of parts from Rába, ZF in Eger and Autofer, and will be spending close to two billion forints (EUR 6.24 million) on Hungarian plastic, rubber, glass and other products, the company told the press.

(MTI)