Szijjarto: Audi contributing to Hungarian economy’s success

The Audi Ahead competence development project at the regional service centre for subsidiaries of Volkswagen AG will provide training for 500 people, and the 1.5 billion forint (EUR 3.9m) investment will receive 750 million forints in government support, Peter Szijjarto said at the launch event.

“Beyond the physical preparations for the new car industry, involving the purchase of machinery, the necessary technological know-how must be acquired by everyone who will provide the basis for the new era,” Szijjarto said.

He said the German company had demonstrated trust in Hungary in an area that was vital to its own global operations.

“These days when rumours and fake news are being spread, it is worth making clear that cooperation between Germany’s industry and economy with Hungary is expanding fast,” he added.

“We will make every effort to ensure that cooperation continues to be characterised by mutual respect and mutual interests,” Szijjarto said.

Without Audi’s activities, Hungary could not have broken the investment and export records set in recent years, he said. Audi has invested around 4,500 billion forints and has become one of the largest exporters, putting Hungary in 34th place globally in terms of exports, even when it is ranked 95th in terms of population size, he added.

He noted that one of Europe’s largest solar power plants is located at the company’s Hungarian factory, helping Hungary to be among the twenty countries in the world able to increase economic output while cutting emissions.