István Joó: Hungarian Automotive Industry Prepared for Future
2026. 03. 23. -
The automotive industry remains one of the most important sectors of the Hungarian economy, in which not only production capacities are expanding, but also a knowledge-based dimensional change has begun, said Mr. István Joó, Government Commissioner and CEO of the HIPA Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, in interviews with the public service media.
In interviews with M1 Television and Kossuth Radio on March 20, 2026, Mr. István Joó highlighted that at HIPA Automotive Conference held the previous day showed that “the overallpicture is extremely positive, our car manufacturers can produce literally everything.”
He added that the strength of the sector, which has increasingly serious capacity and experience in hybrid and electric car technology in addition to traditional, internal combustion engine-powered cars, is also reflected in the results of HIPA, as last year were 27 automotive investments agreed upon with the agency’s assistances, wich is a new historic high. These projects represent an investment volume of 1.1 billion euros and create 3,600 new jobs.
The importance and success of the sector is also demonstrated by the fact that Mercedes-Benz's Kecskemét plant will become the second largest unit in the German giant's global production network due to expansions in recent years, Audi has set a production record in Győr, and BMW's Debrecen factory has such a significant order backlog for the new iX3 model that they are planning to set up another shift, the HIPA CEO noted.
He explained that the basis for success is the unique business environment that the government has created in Hungary over the past 16 years. Political stability, the lowest taxes in Europe and a highly skilled workforce all attract investors, and while the automotive industry in Western Europe, especially in Germany, is characterized by serious layoffs, expansion is typical in Hungary.
Between 2010 and 2025, the production value of vehicle manufacturing increased by 250 percent, and the number of employees by 90 percent, explained Mr. István Joó.
The government has successfully moved the Hungarian economy towards higher added value. Manufacturing is the basis, without which one million new jobs could not have been created, but based on this, last year HIPA managed to agree on a record number of R&D projects with investors, which indicates that the dimensional change of the economy has begun.
This is also clearly visible in the automotive industry, as BYD, for example, chose Hungary as the location for its European R&D center, and Mercedes-Benz is already developing prototypes in Kecskemét with the involvement of Hungarian engineers, Mr. István Joó pointed out.
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