Audi: Expands operations in Hungary

An ambitious project representing an investment of 40 million euros has now officially gone into operation: the Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, today officially opened the AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. toolmaking shop in Györ. The toolmaking shop is a new section of Audi Hungaria and the first automotive toolmaking shop in Hungary.

"The decision to locate toolmaking operations in Györ substantially contributes towards enhancing the competitiveness of the Audi Group,” declared Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn at the opening ceremony.

Following a Group-wide search for a suitable location in Central and Eastern Europe, Audi Hungaria was chosen as the site of the new toolmaking shop. A production hall covering an area of 18,000 m2 was constructed as part of the investment of some 40 million euros. Equipment for the press shop and body shop is manufactured there. Highlights from a production technology viewpoint are the large presses with a maximum closing force of 25,000 kN (kiloNewton) and a maximum tool weight of 50 tonnes.

"The fact that Audi Hungaria has been able to realise the toolmaking shop project at Györ underlines the Group's faith in this company and in the specialist expertise of the Hungarian workforce," said Thomas Faustmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft.

The tasks of the toolmaking shop at Györ will in future encompass not merely the manufacture of tools and plant, but also a broader spectrum of tasks involving the production of body components and welded assemblies for small-series products. The Györ toolmaking shop has already demonstrated its success in this domain with the production start of the new Audi RS 4, one of the top models of the Audi Group.