“German automotive industry Continental is establishing a new software development centre in Budapest that will employ one hundred engineers; the Hungarian Government is providing 1.37 billion forints (EUR 4.4 million) in funding towards the realisation of the 5.5 billion forint (EUR 17.75 million) project”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced.
The Minister stressed that development activities at the new centre will be conducted at the highest possible level of technology and the jobs being created require a particularly high level of education.
There is no longer simply global competition for investments, but also for workers, and major investments increase the country’s workforce retention capacity, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted.
“Young Hungarian engineers are being given an attractive opportunity to make use of their knowledge here at home”, he said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade explained that there is a major technological revolution going on within the global economy, and it remains to be seen which countries are able to provide suitable conditions for the investment of the new industrial-technological era.
He highlighted with relation to job creation that in addition to the number of new jobs, the most important criteria are now also their technological level, added value and research and development.
“Hungary will be successful if the leading corporations of the new technological era continue to have confidence in it”, Mr. Szijjártó emphasised, adding that the fact that one of the world’s largest automotive industry companies is establishing its software development centre in Budapest is an important source of feedback with relation to the country’s competitiveness.
The Minister also told the press that Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd. currently employs 8 thousand people in Hungary.
According to the Minister, the automotive industry is leading the technological transformation within the global economy, and if Hungary continues to be successful within the automotive industry, then the Hungarian economy could be the winner of the great digital transformation.
Mr. Szijjártó also said that the Hungarian automotive industry had set yet another record during the first 11 months of last year, generating a production value of 6540.5 billion forints (EUR 21.1bn).
Citing a recent survey by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Minister told reporters: Over two-thirds of the German enterprises operating in Hungary regard their own business situation as good, the highest ratio since 2005. More than half of German companies want to increase their existing investment and over 60 percent are planning to expand their capacities.
Executive Vice President of Continental AG’s Advanced Driver Support Systems Business Unit Karl Haupt told the press that one of the most important trends within the automotive industry is the development of self-driven cars, and this is one of the most rapidly growing areas within the sector. Continental develops full systems for self-driven cars.
Head of Sensorics Development at the Business Unit Thomas Brohm said, amongst others, that the company will also be opening its artificial intelligence centre in Budapest in May. The team in Budapest will be leading innovation within the company in this field, and Hungary’s engineering traditions and economic environment provide excellent support for the company’s plans.
Managing Director of Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd. Róbert Keszte told the press: Continental, which incorporates 29 business sectors and employs a total of over 233 thousand people worldwide, has been present in Hungary for the past 27 years. It operates six factories and a tyre trade centre at various locations around the country, and some 5000 of the company’s 8000 employees in Hungary work within the automotive sector.
Mayor of Budapest’s 9th District János Bácskai recalled the District’s industrial traditions and links to the automotive industry, stressing that it is extremely important for the District that the new research and development centre will be established there.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
