Audi Inaugurates Expanded Car Plant in Hungary

VIENNA – Audi Hungaria Motor, Audi’s Hungarian subsidiary, inaugurates a new car plant at its site in Gyor.

The new factory produces the Audi A3 sedan. The U.S. will be among the most important markets for the new model.

“With the expansion of our plant in Hungary, Audi Hungaria has developed into an important pillar of our worldwide production network,” Audi CEO Rupert Stadler says in a prepared statement. “We are thus consistently pursuing our growth strategy and strengthening our international competitiveness.”

Audi Hungaria is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Established in 1993, the auto maker originally manufactured engines. Assembly of the Audi TT was added to engine production in 1998.

The current car-assembly portfolio includes the Audi TT coupe and TT roadster as well as the Audi A3 cabriolet and the RS 3 sportback. However, these cars are only assembled in Hungary, with welded and painted bodies sourced from Germany. The A3 built at the new plant is the first Audi to be completely manufactured in Hungary.

Once the successors to the TT coupe, TT roadster and A3 cabriolet are introduced, the three new models will move to the new plant and its complete production process including press shop, welding and painting.

The A3 also will be made in China starting in 2014.

Before deciding to expand in Gyor, Audi considered other sites in Hungary, including the eastern part of the country, which has slightly lower wage standards and higher unemployment. The auto maker also looked into whether to build the new factory in neighboring Ukraine, Audi Hungaria Chairman Thomas Faustmann told WardsAuto in an earlier interview.

Within two years, Audi has constructed a completely new production plant with the press shop, body shop, paint shop and assembly lines, covering more than 21.5 million sq.-ft. (2 million sq.-m) of floor space. The Volkswagen subsidiary invested more than €900 million ($1.12 billion) in the project.

Once the final decision to stay in Gyor was made, Audi expanded the factory by purchasing a 494-acre (200-ha) tract of land formerly used by the defense ministry as a shooting range.

Audi has created 2,100 new jobs as a result of the plant expansion, boosting its total in Hungary to nearly 9,200 employees.

The new facility in Gyor features future-oriented technologies such as dry separation with air circulation in the paint shop. This reduces the volume of air to be processed, resulting in a 50% reduction in energy use compared with conventional wet separation.

An additional system for waste-air purification reduces solvent emissions more than 70%.

The production plant is equipped with efficient and ergonomic machinery. One example is the line in the press shop, where some of the energy used in the production of pressed parts is recovered and helps conserve resources. In the assembly area, operation of the machinery is ergonomically optimized for the employees using height-adjustable conveyor systems.

Audi has invested a total of €5.7 billion ($7.6 billion) since it started activities in Hungary two decades ago, more than any other foreign company.

Advance sales of the A3 began in Germany a few days ago. The sedan will be available at European dealerships this fall and launches in spring 2014 in important non-European markets including the U.S.