CRRC ZELC to build Chinese-Hungarian train factory in Hungary

Chinese company CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co (CRRC ZELC) is partnering with Hungarian group Acemil to establish a rolling stock manufacturing plant in Hungary, targeting the European market.

CRRC ZELC, one of six subsidiaries of the Chinese state-owned CRRC group with over 10,000 employees, plans to have the facility operational by next year. The partnership also aims to set up a railway education, training, and R&D centre, according to Railway Gazette.

Acemil, a Hungarian logistics, railway manufacturing, energy, and IT group founded in 2022, has been chosen as a reliable local partner. The group, entirely owned by a private equity fund, initially focused on China-Europe railway logistics.

Viktor Orbán and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: FB/Orbán

This project follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s diplomatic visit to Budapest in May, highlighting the Hungarian government’s efforts under PM Viktor Orbán to strengthen ties with China. Chinese companies have recently invested in several production facilities in Hungary, including battery and car factories.

CRRC has previously delivered small batches of rolling stock to EU operators, with larger-scale orders fulfilled through its subsidiary, Vossloh Rolling Stock. CRRC ZELC’s acquisition of Vossloh Locomotives GmbH in 2020 marked a significant step into the European market.

Chinese development plans in Europe

Photo: depositphotos.com

CRRC ZELC plans to manufacture mainline and shunting locomotives, electric multiple units, and double-deck trainsets at the new Hungarian facility. Acemil Board Member Dávid Kovács highlighted Hungary’s rich railway manufacturing history, noting that “Ganz and later Ganz-MÁVAG supplied railway vehicles for the international market over many decades.”

“Our goal is to put Hungary back on the map of European rolling stock production,” said Kovács. “We aim to produce products with at least 51% EU added value to meet market demand.”

Kovács also emphasised plans to establish a maintenance base in Hungary to support current and future European product portfolios. “We don’t just want to sell railway vehicles; we want to offer comprehensive service packages with mobile maintenance staff to reduce customer concerns about maintenance,” he explained.

“We are looking ahead, to 2025 and beyond”, Kovács explains. “We can be sure that there will be a huge demand for new locomotives for a variety of reasons. Currently, there are about 55,000 locomotives in Europe. The average age of those in Western Europe is 20 to 23 years, in Eastern Europe 35, in Hungary, it is 40 to 50 years. And a green transition is happening in Europe, amid expectations from the EU institutions of further progress with network electrification and overall decarbonisation. The existing suppliers just won’t be able to keep up with this demand,” he added.

Additionally, Acemil has also concluded an agreement with another CRRC subsidiary, CRRC Shandong Co, for joint manufacturing and assembly of freight wagons in Hungary, for which a separate factory would be built. „We have an existing collaboration with CRRC Shandong”, Kovács explains, adding that „we are ready to start the manufacturing of wagons in the first quarter of 2025.”

Read also:

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• Chinese money will save the collapsing Hungarian railway system? – Read here