Debrecen will also help the country to become a global leader in battery exports – news from Debrecen, news from Debrecen | Debrecen and Hajdú-Bihar county news
Debrecen will also help the country to become a global leader in battery exports
Debrecen – It is our country’s number one export product this year, and the investments in Debrecen will add to this – said Péter Szijjártó, who is talking about the fact that the BMW factory built in Cívisváros will be unique in the world.
As about the Dehir reported, BMW is expanding its investment in Debrecen with an electric battery cell assembly plant. Péter Szijjártó will announce this on Friday. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this is Hungary’s third largest green field investment in our city. In Debrecen Televízíó’s program Közügy Extra, Péter Szijjártó talks, among other things, about how the automotive industry is transforming and what Debrecen’s role will be in the company’s new strategy.
The upcoming BMW factory (Photo: BMW Group)
– It can be observed that there is a process in the world economy that does not slow down even in difficult circumstances, it did not do so during the pandemic, and it is still moving forward with full steam: this is the automotive revolution, with the traditional – diesel or gasoline – powered drive as a competitive result. instead, the electric drive will come to the fore – the minister pointed out. He added,
according to forecasts, around sixty percent of new car sales will be connected to electric cars by 2030. but this requires a battery.
– Battery production must keep pace with electric car production, and factories are needed for this. These factories are usually Eastern, including Chinese and Korean. Such is CATL, which is the largest in the world, and the fifth and sixth largest are Samsung SDI and SK Innovation.
Péter Szijjártó explained that CATL will soon start building the largest factory in Europe in Debrecen, while SK Innovation has built a factory in Iváncs as part of the second largest investment ever in Hungarian economic history. BMW’s current investment is lining up behind them.
– This will not simply be a car factory, but a battery assembly plant will be built next to it, which will increase the investment to two billion euros, or HUF 820 billion.
He emphasized that all electric cars that will be manufactured in Debrecen will work with batteries assembled here.
Debrecen will be a very prominent location for the electric car industry not only in Europe, but also in the world.
These batteries, which are made in the plants of CATL and BMW, will be delivered not only to BMW cars, but also to other models.
Péter Szijjártó emphasized that the BMW factory will be unique in the world in many ways.
– Here, BMW is just trying out how a factory works completely independent of fossil energy sources. In other words, a factory has been built here that uses entirely green, renewable energy, and can reuse the usage on a circular basis.
He pointed out that this is also important because, in the last ten years, Hungary was one of the 21 countries in the world that increases their economic performance while reducing their emissions. The BMW factory belongs to this.
What place will it occupy in the BMW network at the Debrecen factory?
Péter Szijjártó said that the German car manufacturer does not currently produce a purely electric platform, it is currently under development. Its production will begin in Debrecen, which means that the heart of BMW’s electromobility strategy will be here.
The minister underlined that environmental awareness is important, but economy is a much more important factor in people’s choices when it comes to cars. According to him, the demand for electric cars will grow in parallel with the development of batteries, so how can the car go on one charge, with the growth of the infrastructure, i.e. where will it be possible to charge, and the demand will also increase with the development of cars, so how competitive will the electric car be in our expectations vehicle with a diesel car. Of course, the purchase and operating price is also an important factor.
Péter Szijjártó also talks about environmental protection, that it should not be seen as a political or ideological issue.
– We want to preserve the planet for those who come after us. It is therefore important that economic competitiveness and environmental protection go hand in hand. If the balance is tipped in any direction, it damages credibility.
The minister also said that BMW is preparing for something groundbreaking in Debrecen, and that it will have to be caught up with human resources.
– BMW is grouping more and more resources in Debrecen, its expectation that this place will be served with human resources is becoming more and more legitimate.
He added that he also visited the University of Debrecen, where he spoke with the rector and the chancellor about the fact that the government is happy to support the institution with infrastructure developments that are necessary to carry out training and research related to the electric car industry that meet the most modern needs.
The goal is that the University of Debrecen will produce those professionals who can bring this new technological, economic and technical thinking in line with BMW’s electromobility strategy.
Hungary is in an important position in the automotive industry
Péter Szijjártó said that this investment will put Hungary on the car map.
– With BMW building a factory here, our country will be the third country in the world, after Germany and China, where the three German premium car brands – Audi, Mercedes and BMW – will be present with their own factories
– drew attention to the minister.
28 percent of manufacturing output in Hungary comes from the automotive industry. About 147,000 people work in this sector, and by the end of September it produced a production value of HUF 8,700 billion. If everything goes according to plan, this year will be the first year when the Hungarian automotive industry brings together a production value exceeding HUF ten thousand billion.
He also mentioned that Hungary can be successful if it can produce abroad, because a country of this size cannot be successful with its own market activity.
– It is very important that we succeeded: the Hungarian economy is one of the ten most open economies in the world. It develops on the basis of export capacity with large investors interested from abroad. For example, in the automotive industry, 91 percent of all products produced here in Hungary are exported, which shows that the Hungarian automotive industry is competitive.
In the case of battery production, Hungary has the third largest production capacity in the world and the fifth best export position, all because the largest battery factory in Europe has not yet begun to be built.
The minister believes that with the factories in Debrecen and Iváncsa, we will quickly take over the leading global position in battery production and export.
Until August of this year, the battery exports of our country reached 3.9 billion euros, which is a 61 percent increase in one year. This made the electric battery the number one export product until August.
Péter Szijjártó highlighted, therefore, it can be said that battery investments in Debrecen are not only important for the city, but also crucial for the entire Hungarian economy.
The full conversation can be viewed here: