He reminded that last year the investment record was broken with 6.5 billion euros, the value of exports also reached a peak of 142 billion euros, and the number of employed people was also higher than ever at 4.3 million people.
He underlined: moreover, last year’s record year will be surpassed in all three factors this year, exports will increase by 11 percent and will approach 160 billion euros, the investment volume will reach 13 billion euros, while the investments created with the help of the state investment support system created 50 percent more new jobs than last year.
Péter Szijjártó emphasized that this is partly due to the growth of the automotive industry, which is a pillar of the domestic economy with a share of 32-33 percent of the total industrial output.
In this connection, he touched on the issue of the sector’s irreversible electric transition, pointing out that European manufacturers can make excellent cars, but they have forgotten about the batteries they need, and the appropriate production capacities have not been built on the continent.
We like it, we don’t like it, that’s it. Electric batteries are manufactured by the Orientals
– he said, also referring to the fact that among the ten largest manufacturers, six are Chinese, three are South Korean and one is Japanese, which cover about 98 percent of the market.
He also welcomed the fact that Hungary is in fourth place in the world ranking in terms of the production of electric batteries, and will rise to second place in a few years, which is also an important job protection issue, since the traditional car industry will no longer need as many workers as before.
“This strategy of ours, that we are the meeting point of East and West, came about from the point of view that large German automotive companies and their Eastern, basically Chinese, suppliers meet here,” he said.
