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Central Europe
March 15, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 16
Hungary's automotive sector outpaces industrial growth despite week-long strike at Audi
Levente Szilagyi in Budapest
Hungary's industrial output rose by an annual 4.4% in January, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) confirmed preliminary data on March 13 in a second reading.
Adjusted for the number of work days in the month, output grew by 5%. Industrial output was up 0.6% m/m.
Vehicle manufacturing output grew by an annual 4.8% in January, beating the overall increase in industrial output despite a week-long strike at German carmaker Audi's plant in Gyor. The German premium carmaker was forced to put production on hold at its headquarters in Ingolstadt as deliveries of engines from Gyor stopped. The Hungarian plant is one of the largest engine producers in the world, rolling out 2mn units a year.
Automotive sector output rose 4.8% in January despite strike at Audi.
Last year the three leading car makers Audi, Mercedes, Suzuki turned out a total of some 500,000 cars or some 2.8% of the 19mn cars manufactured in the EU. Hungary's annual car production could rise to 800,000 by 2023 when BMW's new production plant comes into operation.
In related news, Japanese car maker Suzuki announced that it has turned out the 500,000th Vitara compact SUV model at the Esztergom fac- tor. The Vitara was launched in 1988, and Magyar Suzuki started producing the fourth-generation model in 2015, which received a facelift in 2018. Suzuki remains the leading brand on the market with a 15.6% market share.
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Slovak businessman charged with ordering journalist Kuciak's murder
Nelly Tomcikova in Prague
An investigator from Slovakia's National Crime Agency's Anti-crime Unit has charged an entre- preneur identified as Marian K. with ordering the murders of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova, the Special Prosecutor's Office announced on March 14, the Slovak News Agency (SNA) reported.
Kuciak is believed to have been killed in connec- tion with his last article for Aktuality.sk covering alleged tax fraud connected to the luxury Five Star Residence in Bratislava and the suspicious activi- ties of businessman Marian Kocner and his links to the ruling political party Smer-SD.
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