Hungary’s minister for National Economy has said that the development of the country’s automotive industry will rely on systems integration involving the Visegrad Group of countries.
Mihály Varga opened the Automotive Hungary 2017 expo in Budapest on Wednesday and said that boosting the automotive industry is a complex task involving manufacturers, suppliers, the energy sector, R+D, the government and municipalities alike.
The minister noted that Hungary’s capabilities in these areas were strong, but slow reaction times could set the country back in the race for global advantage.
According to MTI, Minister Varga said that the government will spend 3 billion euros on R+D+I. A substantial part of this sum will also flow into the automotive industry.
The minister said that the Hungarian government has designated auto industry centers in the country and launched dual vocational training, coupling theoretical with practice training in major plants.
He also highlighted how a record low unemployment rate, continuously rising wages and a stable budget are all creating a favorable environment in Hungary.
Hungary’s auto industry currently accounts for 20 percent of the country’s exports and employs almost 170,000 people. Output in 2016 amounted to 25 billion euros, and the greatest challenge of the coming years will be developing 5G technologies and electro-mobility, the minister concluded.