FM Szijjártó: Hungary among winners of new economic era in Europe

Hungary is among the winners of the transition to the electric car industry, and therefore of the new economic era in Europe, thanks to the government developing the best possible cooperation with market players, the foreign minister said on Monday.

Péter Szijjártó told an event announcing an investment by US company BorgWarner that as a result of the planned development worth HUF 25 billion (EUR 66 million), the company already employing more than a 1,000 people in Hungary will manufacture products suitable for hybrid and electric vehicles in Oroszlány, west of Budapest.

The state supports the project with HUF 5 billion, contributing to the creation of sixty new jobs, he added.

Szijjártó said that next to China and Germany, Hungary was the only country in the world where all three premium German car brands had production capacities. Additionally, five of the world’s ten largest battery makers have committed themselves to Hungary, he said.

Over the past ten years, the production value of the car industry in Hungary increased by 3.5-fold, represented by a combined growth of manufacturers and suppliers, he said.The production value of the industry broke a “brutal record” last year with HUF 12,000 billion, and an additional 18% increase was registered in the first nine months of this year, he added.

US investments play an important role in maintaining the growth of the Hungarian economy, he said. The affected companies represent the second largest investment community in Hungary, and the government has signed strategic cooperation agreements with 14 of them, he added,

Bilateral trade broke a record last year and 11% increase was registered in the first nine months of this year, showing that another record high can be expected in 2023, he said.

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