Magyar Suzuki reaches milestone with Vitara
In ten years, the Hungarian plant of the Japanese car manufacturer has built one million Suzuki Vitara.
The anniversary model, a Vitara GLX, rolled off the production line in Esztergom on Friday. As Suzuki emphasised in a press release, the Vitara is currently the most popular passenger car model in Hungary. For Magyar Suzuki, the start of series production in 2015 was a turning point because it was the first local car whose prototype had been developed with the involvement of Hungarian engineers. The local experts were also given a free hand in production planning, for example with regard to the installation of robots in the welding shop and paint shop.
Since the start of production in Esztergom at the end of 1992, Magyar Suzuki has been the Japanese group's only European car plant. Since its foundation, Suzuki has invested around 2 billion euros in the site, where 4 million vehicles have already been built by 2024. In addition to the Vitara small car, the Hungarians currently also produce the S-Cross SUV; almost nine out of ten cars have a hybrid drive. The vehicles are delivered from Esztergom to 123 countries around the world. Including partners, suppliers and the network of 78 brand dealers, Suzuki secures the livelihood of around 10,000 employees. The business figures for the past year have not yet been published; in 2023, Magyar Suzuki Zrt. increased its sales revenue from 2.1 to 2.9 billion euros and net profit from less than 25 to over 140 million euros.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Budapest Times
17 hours ago
- Budapest Times
Orbán calls on Brussels to drop plan to ban import of Russian energy
The prime minister said the conflict between Iran and Israel would further increase energy prices in Europe. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called on Brussels to drop its plans to ban the import of Russian energy. In a Facebook post, the prime minister said the conflict between Iran and Israel would further increase energy prices in Europe, while 'Brussels would be shooting European industry in the foot' by banning Russian energy. 'Enough of Brussels's warlike logic!' PM Orbán said, adding that the government will represent the interests of the Hungarian people at Thursday's EU summit.
Budapest Times
3 days ago
- Budapest Times
FM: Russia is willing to provide cheap natural gas and crude oil to Hungary
Minister Szijjártó said the latest plans by von der Leyen and Zelensky involved banning Russian crude oil and natural gas purchases by Hungary, which would quickly result in an increase in utility fees. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that despite all the difficulties, Russia is willing to provide cheap natural gas and crude oil to Hungary, whereas utility prices in Hungary would multiply 2-3 times if a plan devised by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to ban Russian fossil fuel imports is approved. Speaking in St Petersburg on Thursday, after talks with Russian government officials and energy company representatives, Minister Szijjártó said the latest plans by von der Leyen and Zelensky involved banning Russian crude oil and natural gas purchases by Hungary, which would quickly result in an increase in utility fees. 'We consider this unacceptable and will not allow Brussels or Kyiv to interfere in our sovereignty. It is our sovereign decision who we buy energy from, when, and under what contracts. We will not allow them to push us into one-sided dependence. We will not allow them to turn the two crude oil pipelines leading to Hungary into one, and we will not allow them to close the largest natural gas pipeline leading to Hungary,' he said. 'And we will also not allow them to make Hungarian families and Hungarian people pay two, three times or four times more for their utilities than so far,' he added. Minister Szijjártó said he agreed with representatives of the Russian government and the largest energy companies to maintain strategic cooperation in energy despite the efforts by Brussels and Kyiv to undermine this. 'We will continue to rely on Russian energy, and we will continue to maintain Europe's lowest utility fees in Hungary,' he said. 'The leaders of the largest Russian energy companies have made clear that despite the difficulties and the obstacles of Brussels, they are ready to continue providing Hungary cheap natural gas and cheap crude oil,' he added. 'The construction of the new reactors in the Paks nuclear power station will continue. Crude oil supplies to Hungary will continue, and the TurkStream gas network will continue to operate at full capacity. This guarantees Hungary's energy supplies, and what's most important, the leaders of Russian energy companies and Russian political leaders are dedicated to securing cheap crude oil and natural gas supplies for Hungary, despite all the difficulties,' he said. Minister Szijjártó said politicising issues around energy supply was 'extremely harmful', with an impact on European competitiveness as 'gas costs several times in Europe as in America or China'. 'If we continue like this, we will certainly not be competitive,' Minister Szijjártó warned, adding that Europe's economic growth used to rest on modern western technologies and cheap energy from Russia. 'By now, we have been cut off from Russian resources' and there is no alternative, he said. The minister called for a return to 'approaches based on rationality and common sense'. He said those values were still present in the economy, and he mentioned the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant implemented by Rosatom as an example. Minister Szijjártó met, among others, Russian deputy prime ministers Denis Manturov and Alexander Novak, Rosatom director general Alexey Likhachev, and Gazprom chief executive Alexey Miller.
Budapest Times
3 days ago
- Budapest Times
Hungary and United Kingdom looking to boost energy cooperation
Hungary and the United Kingdom are looking to boost bilateral ties, with energy cooperation a possible key component. During a visit to London on Thursday, Levente Magyar, parliamentary state secretary of the foreign ministry, said Hungary and the United Kingdom are looking to boost bilateral ties, with energy cooperation a possible key component. 'It is highly important to maintain dialogue even with Western allies that view the situation in Ukraine completely differently from Hungary,' Magyar said, noting that that 'in this spirit' he met Stephen Doughty, the UK's deputy foreign secretary, and examined steps both sides may take to strengthen cooperation. Energy was an important area for a potential breakthrough that could renew relations as a whole, he added, noting talks he had with representatives of Rolls-Royce SMR, with which the Hungarian government is examining the possibility of a joint nuclear reactor project.
