lh x cw market report A4_23.03.02 v34 interactive72

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The Hungarian car industry is one of the country’s leading sectors in every respect. This is shown by the fact that, according to the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), around 92% of the industry’s production is exported, meaning that 20% of Hungary’s exports come from the automotive industry. At European level, this means that around 3% of total EU car production takes place in Hungary. The German automotive industry employs around 50,000 people in Hungary and generates 2.5% of Hungary’s GDP. The Hungarian car industry is built on German premium OEMs, as Hungary is the only country in the world where all three car manufacturers (Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz) are present alongside Germany and China. The global pandemics and the difficulties caused by the subsequent economic and energy crises have highlighted the vulnerability of offshoring and nearshoring has come to the fore. Many automotive suppliers see our country as an advantageous location and are relocating major work functions. From the industry’s perspective, we can expect to see an even stronger emergence of environmentally conscious technology trends in the near future. The more than €1 billion investment in the Mercedes Kecskemét plant gave the factory a new direction, creating more than 2,500 jobs. NIO completed its €15 million investment in 2022, the first battery pack exchange station in Hungary. This makes Hungary the third largest battery manufacturer in the world, and investment incentives are attracting more foreign companies from the industry to Hungary. With a strong Chinese and Korean presence, demand from Western European companies is also growing.

LABOUR COST LEVEL (EURO PER HOUR) *

12

8

4

POLAND

HUNGARY

SLOVAKIA SLOVAKIA

ROMANIA

CZECH REPUBLIC

0

200

DENSITY OF HIGHWAYS IN CEE COUNTRIES (KM/1000 SQ KM)

100

POLAND

ROMANIA

CZECH REPUBLIC

HUNGARY

0

*Labour cost for LCI (compensation of employees plus taxes minus subsidies) published by Eurostat

C&W Research, http://eugo.gov.hu/, https://ec.europa.eu