Hungary well positioned in competition for electric car R and D investments

After securing electric car manufacturing investments in the first phase of the competition for attracting such businesses, now Hungary has a good chance of attracting R and D projects in the sector as well, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Tuesday, announcing an investment by the German-owned Schaeffler Savaria, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers.

The HUF 5.2 billion (EUR 13.6m) R and D project at its plant in Szombathely is connected with parts for hybrid and pure electric vehicles, with the state providing 1.3 billion forints in support, the ministry said in a press release. One hundred new jobs linked to engineering will be created as a result, it added.

Szijjártó said in a speech at the inauguration that the “revolutionary transformation of the automotive industry” was the “backbone of the European and global economy”.

This automotive revolution was completely rewriting the global economy, and countries would either be winners or losers in this new era, he added.

The competition, he said, had two phases. First, it was about which countries succeeded in attracting electric automotive manufacturing, and in this respect Hungary was a “European champion” and “among the best in the world”.