Hungarian Conservative

According to EU forecasts, the Hungarian economy could be the third fastest-growing economy in the EU next year, Viktor Orbán said in his regular public radio interview on Friday morning. He highlighted the paramount importance of avoiding the forming of economic blocs, a view that is shared by leading European political and economic players.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, BMW is building a solar power plant in Debrecen, Hungary, spanning an area equivalent to 71 football fields. It will be the largest within the BMW Group, and the largest industrial solar power plant in Hungary. further affirming Hungary’s position as a global leader in the green economy.

Chery Automotive, the fifth-largest automotive company in China and the largest Chinese exporter, is arriving in Hungary with the Omoda series. The car will be on Hungarian roads from September, with Omoda showrooms also opening in the same month at eight locations across the country.

The Gloster Group announced on Wednesday that it won BMW’s €15 million industrial software development contract through a multi-round international tender.

Examining the performance of the first five months of 2024, Hungary also ranks among the top in the spread of clean and quiet vehicles. From January to May, nearly one and a half times more purely electric cars were registered in Hungary compared to the same period last year.

‘Within a few years, Hungary will be among the five countries in the world capable of manufacturing over one million cars annually,’ Péter Szijjártó stated, announcing a new investment in Zalaegerszeg by US Flex.

Currently, the greatest challenge lies in the infrastructure associated with electric vehicles, particularly the lack of charging networks. In this regard, it was noted that Europe lacks a cohesive, long-term, fast, and hassle-free continental network, which should be developed through both public and private investments.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade described the Chinese President’s three-day visit with a 400-member delegation as historically significant. He explained that it has been twenty years since a Chinese President last visited Hungary; moreover, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Headquartered in Austria, Gebrüder Weiss Holding is a global, full-service logistics company employing approximately 8,600 people and operating 180 facilities. Their new 10 billion HUF investment, a logistics complex equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, was handed over on Thursday in Dunaharaszti.

Last year, 22,651 vehicles with official green markings were registered domestically, making 2023 another record year, surpassing the nearly 21,000-unit expansion peak in 2022.

BYD, the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China is opening a new factory in the southern Hungarian city of Szeged. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has called it ‘one of the biggest investment projects in Hungary’s history’.

According to a statement from the ministry, Péter Szijjártó stressed that the German-owned ZF Chassis Modules Hungary Ltd will manufacture shock absorbers, as well as front and rear axles for electric cars produced from 2025 at the BMW plant in Debrecen and the Mercedes plant in Kecskemét.

In Hungary, it costs about half as much to get a driver’s licence as in Austria. Since all EU Member States accept each other’s licences as valid, more and more Austrian citizens are coming over to take advantage of the price difference, bringing a lot of business to driving schools in Western Hungary.

On the basis of the ten-point proposal developed by the Ministry of Economic Development, the Hungarian government is launching a 2.9 billion forint Automotive Supplier Development Programme to enhance the role of Hungarian businesses as suppliers of multinationals in Hungary.

Speaking at a ceremony opening a BMW training centre where the first hundred students started their three-year training in September, Szijjártó said the fact that the company had chosen to establish an exclusively electric production platform in Hungary showed great confidence in Hungarians.

MFAT State Secretary Levente Magyar stated at a press conference on Monday that Stellantis, which owns fourteen automotive brands, has chosen Hungary as the hub for autonomous driving technology and electrification. ‘We are proud that Hungary…has become one of the leading automotive powers in the world in just under 20 years,’ he said, adding that the country is among the top 20 in terms of automotive production.

The BMW i Vision Dee will be on display for three days in front of the Modem Modern and Contemporary Art Centre, as announced during a press conference at the venue on Thursday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with Wang Chuanfu, the founder and chairman of the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer BYD in Shenzhen. BYD believes that the introduction of competitively priced, modern electric vehicles in Hungary will be a turning point for sustainable transportation.

The Foreign Minister of Hungary stressed the importance of connectivity between the ‘interdependent’ Eastern and Western economies, and cautioned against dividing the world into political blocs again. On the same day, he also gave an update on the 15 Hungarian citizens still in Gaza.

During the inauguration of the British-owned GKN Automotive Hungary Ltd. factory, the minister highlighted that the company, specializing in manufacturing automotive components, will serve BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, and Volkswagen through the newly built facility within the framework of the approximately 52-billion-forint greenfield investment.

AI-based developments are a focal area of the Hungarian branch of the Bosch Group. The company employs this technology in various areas at its Hungarian sites, playing a significant role in manufacturing processes, whether it is data analysis for production optimisation, optical inspection of certain processes, or planning maintenance for production line equipment.

‘University of Debrecen Foundation Board of Trustees chairman György Kossa said that when two global brands, BMW and DE, come together, it sends a strong message to the students studying at the university, and to the residents of the region as well.’

Péter Szijjártó declared that it is no longer an exaggeration to speak of the mutually respect-based cooperation between Audi and Győr, and Audi and Hungary as a true success story.

‘If the European Union views China as a rival, it will lose out. It has become evident in recent years that China has a competitive advantage in many areas of the economy,’ the minister declared. He emphasised that if the EU wants to benefit from its relationship with China, it should focus on cooperation based on mutual trust, respect, and benefits rather than rivalry.

Péter Szijjártó emphasised that except for Germany and China, Hungary is the only country where all three German luxury car brands have factories, and three of the world’s top ten electric battery manufacturers are already present in Hungary.

Péter Szijjártó pointed out that Hungary is already the world’s fourth-largest producer of electric batteries and that in the last thirteen months, batteries have been the country’s top export product.

At the meeting, the parties agreed to strengthen cooperation. They also shared the view that government support needs to be provided in order to protect Hungary’s strategically important automotive industry and preserve jobs.

‘Hungary must be a country that can have Hungarians do all the work that needs to be done in this country. If it’s uncomfortable or difficult, we need to pay more for it. If we have exhausted all of these options, then we can talk about guest workers. They can stay for a definite period, and their employment can be terminated if necessary, otherwise, we will lose our security,’ Viktor Orbán underlined.

The massive electric vehicle-related investments that Debrecen has secured over the past year represent a major step in Hungary’s shift toward a more sustainable economic development.

On 21 July, Minister Péter Szijjártó announced a HUF 400 billion expansion investment at Mercedes-Benz’s factory in Kecskemét.