Hungary's auto industry plans gradual restart of production

Hankook Tire & Technology

15/04/2020 09:27

BUDAPEST, April 15 (Reuters) - Hungary's largest car makers
plan to restart production gradually after weeks of shutdown to
stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, they said in
statements late on Tuesday.
    Hungary's economy is heavily dependent on the vehicle
manufacturing sector, which all but halted production last month
when the pandemic began to spread in the central European
country.
    Germany's luxury carmaker Daimler  DAIGn.DE  and Japan's
Suzuki  7269.T  have said they will restart production in a
limited scope at their Hungarian units later this month. Germany
luxury brand Audi  NSUG.DE  restarted its Hungarian factory on
Tuesday. 
    "Hungarian Suzuki Corp. introduced more complex health
safety measures than ever before, therefore the factory at
Esztergom is ready to restart production," the company said in
an emailed statement.
    "The company monitors the market and potential domestic and
international government measures, revising its restart date
weekly. Hungarian Suzuki expects to restart production on April
27 in a single-shift operation."
    PSA Group's  PEUP.PA  Opel told state news agency MTI it was
ready to restart production at its Western Hungarian plant when
market circumstances and regulations allowed.  
    Korean tire maker Hankook Tire  161390.KS  has restarted its
factory south of Budapest, it said. Other companies in the car
sector supply chain, such as Japanese Denso  6902.T , have also
started to resume production operations, they said. 
    The companies said they would continue to monitor hygiene
and implement safe distancing between employees.
    Hungary's industrial production expanded by an annual 4.1
percent in February, before the novel coronavirus pandemic hit
the global economy. Analysts expect the economic effects of the
shutdown to peak in the second quarter of the year in Hungary,
as in many other countries.

 (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Mike Harrison)
 ((marton.dunai@tr.com; +36-30-952-7878 (Cell/Signal); https://reut.rs/2OXGXbW
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