The Automotive Industry– A high Priority in Hungarian Government Policy

The auto industry is among the pulling-sectors of the economy in Europe and all over the world; for this reason, the Hungarian Government has ranked motor vehicle manufacturing and its sub-sectors among the high-priority sectors of the domestic economy. If further evidence for its importance were needed, it could be found in the substantial employment it provides, the many small and medium-size businesses working in the sector and the sector's exports (which significantly improve the country's foreign-trade balance), not to mention the local tradition and expertise. To all this is added the fact that the automotive industry is the largest systems integrator its influence extends to all the supply industries.

In 2005, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány recognized the most outstanding investors of the previous year with an award. The winners in three of the six categories were companies active in the automotive industry:
• the award for largest greenfield investment in 2004 went to Ibiden, for its factory in Dunavarsány;
• the award for largest expansion of the year went to Suzuki, for capacity expansion at its Esztergom plant;
• and the R&D cooperation award went to Audi for its R&D collaboration with the Universities of Gyôr and Budapest.