Thyssenkrupp has announced plans to build a further automotive and components plant in Hungary. More than six million coil springs and stabilizers per year will be produced at the 20,000 sq.m site in Debrecen from 2018 for customers including European OEMs.
Karsten Kroos, CEO of Thyssenkrupp’s components technology business area said of the the roughly 35 million Euro investment: “In recent years Hungary has developed into an important European location for the international auto industry. In the last four years alone, car production in Hungary has more than doubled to over 500,000 light vehicles produced there in 2016. The expansion of our production capacities in Hungary is a continuation of the profitable growth strategy being pursued by our components business together with our customers.”
Early last year Thyssenkrupp began building a new100 million Euro facility for engine and chassis components near Budapest. Production of electric power-assisted steering systems and cylinder head covers with integrated camshafts is planned to commence at the site in 2018. The company also opened a front and rear axle assembly plant for Audi in Győr in 2013.
The growing importance of Hungary as a location for Thyssenkrupp is not limited to production. The company also operates a software development center for steering technology in Budapest, where 500 software engineers work to develop solutions for electro-mechanical steering systems for the international automotive industry. Based on this steering technology the center is also working on steer-by-wire solutions and driver assist systems as a precursor to autonomous driving.
