Magyar Suzuki Zrt, one of the four major multinational carmakers present in Hungary, announced on Wednesday it will resume production on April 29, offering some hope that the manufacturing industry is regaining some footing in the country after a similar announcement made by Audi a week ago.
In a press release to national news agency MTI, Magyar Suzuki said production will restart gradually, with only one shift per day in the beginning and alterations to its production process to ensure complete safety of the workers.
The company announced on March 18 that it will suspend production from March 23. In the month that has passed since, Suzuki kept paying its employees, using a combination of working hours rescheduling, home office and paid leave.
The four major car manufacturers present in Hungary, Audi, Mercedes, Opel and Suzuki, account for just over 10 percent of the total GDP and 29 percent of total manufacturing output. All of them stopped production once the pandemic hit Hungary. Mercedes and Opel have yet to make an announcement about restarting production.
According to the latest available data, Magyar Suzuki posted sales of €1.953 billion in 2018, making it the country’s ninth largest company. Suzuki set up shop in Hungary first among the major automotive groups in 1991, just one year after the regime change in the country. Its Hungarian plant is also the Japanese carmakers’ only European production facility.
Title image: A train of Suzuki cars on their way to dealerships. (source: portfolio.hu)
