- Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán joins Opel Deputy Chairman Sedran open € 500 million world class flex plant
- Production of new generation engines starts before year end
- Half-a-million engines will be produced annually at full capacity
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (right) has today joined Opel Management Board Deputy Chairman, Thomas Sedran, for the inauguration of Opel’s new engine plant in Szentgotthárd, Hungary. |
The Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orbán has today joined Opel Management Board Deputy Chairman,
Thomas Sedran, for the inauguration of Opel’s new engine plant in Szentgotthárd,
Hungary, exactly two years after the project was announced.
Thomas Sedran and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán with new Opel 1.6 Turbo SIDI EcoTec engine |
Orbán acknowledged
the importance of the new facility for the Hungarian economy, while Sedran
emphasized that the investment is an important part of Opel’s product
offensive.
“We are investing
billions of euro in 23 new models and 13 new engines by 2016,” said Sedran.
“Many of these engines will be built right here in Szentgotthárd.”
The € 500 million flex-plant features
world-class flexibility and efficiency. It will produce highly fuel-efficient
gasoline and diesel engines. It will have the ability to swiftly adapt
production in response to changing market demand. The plant will have more than
800 employees and manufacture half-a-million engines per year at full capacity.
New 1.6 Turbo SIDI EcoTec EURO 6 petrol engine |
The first 1.6 liter mid-size gasoline engines
that roll off the line will power the new Opel Astra range with its new
four door sedan. It had its world premiere last month at the Moscow
International Motor Show. The engines provide extraordinarily high maximum
torque along with significantly reduced fuel consumption and CO2
emissions. All of the new generation Opel engines built in Szentgotthárd will
meet the strict future EURO 6 emissions standard.
As one of the most
sophisticated engine plants in the world, the Szentgotthárd facility will play
a key role within the European Opel manufacturing network. It will also deepen
Opel’s business relationship with Hungarian suppliers and enhance the role of
Opel in the local economy and job market.
History, tradition and the Opel brand in Hungary
The
new investment in Szentgotthárd has almost doubled the amount that Opel
invested over the past two decades in Hungary.
In the early 1990s, Opel became the first international automotive
company to invest there and the first automaker to build passenger cars in the
country. The start of engine production at the new facility in Szentgotthárd
coincides with the 20th anniversary of the production of the first
Opel Astra in Hungary.
Opel Hungary plant Szentgotthárd |
Over
the past 20 years, more than 7 million engines and 5.5 million cylinder heads
have been produced in Szentgotthárd. Opel’s footprint in Hungary is the key to
a multitude of business opportunities for Hungarian companies. In 2011, the
Hungarian suppliers of Opel/Vauxhall operations in Europe had a turnover of
around € 400 million.
Supported by its strong industrial background,
Opel has been among the top three brands in terms of new car registrations in
Hungary over the past 20 years. Opel continues to be the number one passenger
car brand in the country, with nearly 11 percent market share.
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