Austrian Automotive Supplier Expands in Pápa

The new investment by automotive supplier Astotec Automotive, worth HUF 3.6 billion, secures 700 jobs in the western Hungarian city of Pápa, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó announced on Monday during a visit to the site.

The minister attended the handover of the investment by Astotec Automotive, where he reported that the Austrian automotive supplier had expanded its capacity by HUF 3.6 billion (EUR 9.38 million / 1 EUR = 383 HUF), for which the government had granted a subsidy of HUF 825 million, securing 700 jobs.

Péter Szijjártó. Photo: MTI/Krizsán Csaba

In his speech, he emphasized that

Pápa is home to production facilities of central importance, that in many ways make this plant the most competitive within the entire group.

The minister made it clear that the automotive industry, the backbone of the Hungarian economy, remains on absolutely solid footing despite the difficulties of recent years, explaining that Hungary rose to become one of the world’s twenty most important automotive exporters in 2018 and has maintained this position ever since.

He added that the sector’s production value broke new records last year, exceeding HUF 13,000 billion, and that Hungary is currently on the verge of joining the elite club of countries that can produce one million cars annually.

“There are only five such countries in Europe, and of course you supply the large companies operating in Hungary that form the basis for this future million-strong series, because Audi, Mercedes, and BMW form the stable foundation of the Hungarian automotive industry, and

Astotec is also among the suppliers to these companies, which shows that what is happening here in Pápa is world class,”

the minister noted.

He also announced that sixteen major investments had been agreed in the Pápa constituency over the past ten years and that, thanks to the HUF 7 billion in state support granted for this purpose, developments worth around HUF 43 billion had been realized, creating a thousand new jobs.

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