Debrecen4U
November 10, 2025
Global automotive issues and solutions discussed at the German‑Hungarian Forum
“A changing economy—shaping the future together.” This was the motto of the first German-Hungarian Business Forum held on Wednesday, where representatives of the largest Hungarian car manufacturers were also present.
The crew of the Debrecen Media Center’s HírPONT Extra program also conducted a separate interview with four experts at the event.
According to Michael Breme, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Audi Hungaria Zrt., the Audi plant in Győr is now much more than an assembly plant: their cars are shipped to more than 90 countries around the world, and approximately 750 engineers work for them.
As he said, their business model is built on three pillars. They started with engine production in 1993 (today they also produce internal combustion and electric engines), but car production is also extremely important as a second pillar (they built a separate plant for this, where they have just started producing the latest Q3 model and where the Cupra Terramar will also roll off the assembly line). Their third pillar is the area of services, which is not only development itself but also procurement—they carry out this activity for the entire Audi group from Hungary. In fact, they even established their own tool plant in Győr so that they can produce tools for even a single component.
“Like a table standing on three pillars, we are very stable, which is why I say that our business model is also extremely flexible,” he highlighted and added that continuous development and increasing efficiency are essential for the company.
The Győr plant is the world’s largest engine factory (nearly 1.6 million engines were produced last year) and a total of nearly 11 thousand employees work for them.
Regarding his view of the role of the automotive industry and companies in the Hungarian economy, he said the following:
“I am convinced that mobility and cars will continue to be important in the future. This means that we need to exploit our advantages; we have a lot of advantages in Hungary, because for at least the past 30 years there have been very stable conditions here,” emphasized Michael Breme.
He believes that the domestic regulations have also been very favorable for them, which has helped them develop investments.
“From the perspective of the future, it is very important that stable conditions remain in Hungary, and what we can add on our part is efficiency and flexibility,” he concluded.
The president also congratulated BMW on its factory in Debrecen. “It is a beautiful building and a beautiful facility, which was built in an incredibly short time, so I am sure that Debrecen has a bright future,” he highlighted.
Finally, he also touched on the business forum itself. He believes that the most important element of such meetings is cooperation, for example with key suppliers and component manufacturers, as well as maintaining relationships and discussing their business matters.
An important bridge
At the forum, Zhang Huanting, CEO of EVE Power Hungary Kft., spoke about EVE’s investment in Hungary.
He said that the investment is an important bridge between Asia and Europe in the rapidly developing electric vehicle industry.
“EVE Power is proud to invest in Hungary, which means that we also want to share our technology and battery development activities while supporting the electric transition of the European automotive industry,” he explained, adding, “Debrecen is increasingly becoming one of the industrial centers of Europe, and they are convinced that this role will further strengthen in the future.”
Moreover, the company is not only implementing a manufacturing investment in Debrecen but is also focusing on developing the local supply chain and professional knowledge. They have already sent a hundred Hungarian employees to China to learn the battery manufacturing process, thereby helping Debrecen to be closely connected to EVE Power’s global network and to be part of the company’s international strategy.
As BMW’s global strategic battery partner, they supply the latest generation cylindrical cells for the BMW Neue Klasse models. Since EVE’s founder, Dr. Liu, is committed to spending around 6 percent of their annual revenue on research and development, they have managed to develop batteries that offer outstanding performance.
“Sustainability is one of our most important core values, and it also plays a decisive role in launching the Debrecen plant. In this spirit, we have established strategic cooperation with local design companies who are developing low-carbon, modern solutions for the plant,” Zhang Huanting emphasized. He added that the project is currently in the construction phase, but their goal is to use circular materials and reduce energy and water consumption.
Innovation, the key to the future
According to Róbert Keszte, President of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, strengthening innovation and cooperation with universities are extremely important in shaping a positive future vision for companies.
“The automotive industry is currently developing in three major parts of the world in different directions and with different strengths. The European market is difficult; as we can see, the market share and production of German car manufacturers have decreased in recent years. At the same time, Hungary still has the strength to produce much cheaper and more efficiently than countries with high wage costs. That is why it still has a great opportunity to attract additional production volumes,” he stated.
Hungarian companies must therefore find the positive opportunities in this situation and exploit them. At the global level, he sees that no major changes are expected in 2026 regarding the strategies of the largest powers. The USA continues to operate in a protectionist manner with tariffs, and China’s momentum also remains. He hopes that the European Union will be able to play a role of its own, corresponding to its real weight, between the two poles.
Automotive journalist Gábor Várkonyi called attention to understanding the changing world and preparing for it in the HírPONT Extra program, which was also the main topic of the forum’s roundtable discussion.
“All three premium manufacturers present have different strategies. There are elements in each strategy that work very well, but they are all companies with different philosophies and management. They also perceive the challenges they have to face differently,” he highlighted.
He pointed out that in the case of the BMW iX3, we are talking about a car that will provide the basis for another 40 cars in the future. It is such an innovation that it has skipped an entire model generation. Mercedes has chosen a different path in terms of electromobility (electric GLC), which technology will also be used by many cars. Regarding the Audi Q3—compared to the two mentioned—it is a vehicle in a smaller category, which will be an internal combustion engine or plug-in hybrid version. The three models cannot be mentioned on the same page because they are at different stages in the respective brands’ palettes from different perspectives.
He explained about the BMW being built in Debrecen; the company is far over-delivering on orders, so much so that customers have not even been able to drive them yet.
But there is also a lot of resonance for the Mercedes GLC, and the Audi Q3 is already widely seen on the roads; all three have extremely positive press, so these are the defining models of the coming period.
Regarding US-China relations, he stressed that it will also affect the European automotive industry with full force. In his opinion, the only way forward in the long term is for manufacturers to diversify their sources of supply as much as possible.
The conversation with the four experts can be viewed in its entirety here. (Hungarian and English sections in the conversations)
Source: dehir.hu | Photo credit:Facebook Papp László
