Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency

The highest ranking representatives of the largest automotive companies present in Hungary, small and medium-size suppliers, higher education institutions responsible for succession training, as well as the government were attending the Automotive Conference in large numbers organized by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) for the sixth time. The aim of the event is to provide an opportunity for the representatives of the sector to discuss the present and future options of automotive production, by this promoting cooperation and also the continuous improvement of the industry.

The automotive industry has a nearly 120-year tradition in Hungary. As a result of the Hungarian expertise, productivity and creativity, favourable geographical location, and competitive production costs, Hungary is one of the most attractive automotive investment locations in Europe. One evidence of that, is that the automotive companies present here are continuously improving their domestic operations by bringing more and more complex processes, more advanced production technology and research and development activities to Hungary, by which they substantially contribute to transitioning from the era of “Made in Hungary” to “Invented in Hungary”.

The results of the niche survey demonstrating the situation of the Hungarian automotive industry were presented at this conference. The research conducted in the spring of 2019 involved 49 companies, which altogether employ some 100,000 people in Hungary. The aim of the survey was to find out: what kind of impact do the changes of the economic environment have on the national competitiveness of the industry. Based on this HIPA is able to come up with better proposals so that Hungary remains an attractive manufacturing and innovation center for the future automotive industry.

The companies and decision-makers were asked in three topics (Technology & Innovation, HR & Education, Suppliers). The research highlighted: the automotive industry also went through considerable changes in Hungary, which are influenced by the more powerful appearance of the technological change, penetration of digitalization, changing user demands, as well as environmentally-aware responsible company operations.

Additionally, the external factors also cannot be neglected, such as for example the decreasing sales in China, the uncertainty caused by Brexit, the emerging American-Chinese commercial warfare and the amendments of regulatory provisions might also trigger further transformation.

To download our survey in pdf format, click on the following link: HIPA Automotive CEO Survey 2019