The Hungarian Government signed a strategic partnership agreement with Audi Hungaria Motor Ltd. today. The signing ceremony took place in Parliament with the participation of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The Prime Minister said that thanks to the agreement concluded with the Hungarian unit of the German car manufacturer, Hungary is likely to do well in the European tax, cost and technology competition.

The Government’s concepts of modern economy are strongly related to the concept of Audi and leading Germany industrial firms in general, Viktor Orbán stressed.

He also stated that this competition will continue in Europe in the future, adding that the Cabinet should be competitive in terms of tax, the Government and major companies in cost matters and the corporate sector in technology.

According to Viktor Orbán, Audi regards Hungary as a network of high-tech enterprises and not merely as an assembly line of large producers.
Prior to the agreement, Mr. Orbán held discussions with the board of Audi AG to review the developments of earlier arrangements and the prerequisites of a future capacity expansion in the Győr plant.

The Prime Minister noted that Audi purchases goods from suppliers operating in Hungary for and annual EUR 1.5 billion. The German automobile company first invested in Hungary in the 1990s and in 2010, at the time of the European crisis, it announced further expansion. In addition, a new factory will be inaugurated in Győr this summer.

Audi board member for production Frank Dreves said the agreement celebrated and reinforced several years of excellent cooperation between the Hungarian Government and Audi, the world’s leading engine manufacturer. He called the creation of a production capacity in Győr definitely the right decision.

(Prime Minister’s Office)