BUDAPEST, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The annual production value of Hungary's automotive industry could well reach a record 10,000 billion forints (35 billion U.S dollars) this year, Peter Szijjarto, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade declared here on Wednesday.
"This new number exceeds last year's record of 8,000 billion forints (28 billion U.S. dollars )," Szijjarto added in a speech delivered at the Automotive Logistics Central and Eastern Europe 2018 Summit.
According to Szijjarto, the production record of the sector is due to the interest of new investors in automotive industry, while domestic carmakers and automotive suppliers continue to play a key role in the exports and growth in the Hungarian economy.
Hungary's third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose 4.8 percent year-on-year, the Central Statistics Office said earlier on Wednesday.
"For the first time, Hungary is among the 20 largest automotive exporters of the world, who are producing 90 percent of the planet's automotive exports," Szijjarto said, adding that this achievement was a clear success.
"The Hungarian government has created all the conditions for Hungary to succeed in the automotive industry's new innovative era, and supports the development, manufacture and distribution of electric cars and self-driving vehicles as well," the minister noted.
Among the measures, he highlighted the investment incentive system and the creation of necessary infrastructure, noting that the technological and digital changes of the automotive industry were controlling the transformation of the global economy as a whole.
Besides Japanese carmaker Suzuki, German carmakers Audi and Mercedes are already in Hungary with factories, and BMW has recently announced its intentions to build a new plant in Debrecen, east Hungary. Enditem
