“Last year, the production value of the Hungarian automotive industry grew to a record level of 7874 billion forints, and the latest investments by the Audi Group are contributing to achieving a further increase in production”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó highlighted at a press conference organised by Audi Hungarian Cls. on Tuesday in Győr.
Chairman of the Board of Audi Hungarian Cls. Peter Kössler announced that production of electric motors and elements for the new Q3 model would begin in two weeks’ time, while the mass production of motors and parts for the Q4 model would begin in Győr in 2019.
Mr. Kössler highlighted that in future the full drive technology for Audi’s first ever electric cars would be manufactured in Hungary.
Body elements for the new models will be manufactured in a new 80 thousand square metre production hall, where 700 robots will also assist production. In addition, the plant’s tools factory and higher education system have also been expanded, Mr. Kössler told reporters.
Mr. Szijjártó told the press that Audi had provided an investment of 10 billion forints to enable the training of experts for the efficient production of electric motors, and the new bodywork plant represents an investment of 100 billion forints (EUR 324M) on the part of the company.
This represents “an outstanding level of confidence in Hungary on the part of Audi”, the Minister said. Mr. Szijjártó told reporters that these investments provide a further boost to the Hungarian economy and contribute to the further expansion of the automotive industry, as a result of which the record output of almost 8 trillion forints produced by the sector last year could be broken this year. “The first three months of this year have already seen an increase of 5.2 percent”, he added.
The Minister also spoke about German-Hungarian economic relations, calling Audi’s investments one of the success stories of German-Hungarian cooperation. “Bilateral trade flow reached 47.5 billion euros last year, and is already showing an increase of 7 percent this year”, he detailed.
Audi’s A3 Limousine, A3 Cabriolet, Audi TT Coupé and Audi TT Roadster models are already manufactured in Gyrőr. The company announced at the beginning of last year that the serial production of the Q3 model would be transferred to Győr from Martorell in Spain, and that a year later mass production of the new Q4 model would also begin in the county capital.
Audi Hungária Cls. realised 7.136 billion forints in turnover in 2016 and manufactured some 2 million motors and 123 thousand vehicles last year. Since being founded in 1993, the Hungarian company has realised 8.3 billion euros in investments and currently employs 11 thousand people. Audi Hungária supplies more than 30 Volkswagen Group facilities with resources.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
