Upgrading and the geography of the Hungarian automotive industry in the context of the fourth industrial revolution

Abstract

The present study focuses on the geographical investigation of the automotive industry in Hungary that has been integrated into the global production networks as a relevant sector of the reindustrialization in East- Central Europe. The aim of the paper is to reveal the dominant spatial trends in this sector since the economic crisis of 2008, and how these are connected to the issue of upgrading influenced also by digitalization. The analysis is primarily based on the official industrial employment data however other secondary sources are also used. It has been stated that the growth of the Hungarian automotive industry showing to the direction of geographical concentration and expansion is accompanied by the regional stability of the sector. Quality indicators expressing upgrading indicate correlation with the spatiality of car factories and Tier 1 suppliers carrying out more complex activities, but a more significant functional upgrading is only realised in the capital city with increasingly research-development focused profile. Results suggest only moderate upgrading despite the gradual adaptation of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Hazai felsőoktatási és vállalati együttműködések az Ipar 4.0 szempontjából

“…Hallgatóinak száma 2013-tól, a képzés indításától kezdve dinamikusan gyarapodott és 2018-ban már elérte az 50 főt, de ez még így is csak harmada a BME hallgatóinak. Az utóbbi években a hallgatói létszám emelkedéséhez az is hozzájárult, hogy a nagymúltú német autógyár, a BMW a városban létesít autógyárat (Molnár et al 2020). A debreceni értékekkel szemben a többi vidéki (győri, miskolci, veszprémi) egyetemen igen kevés (2-16 fő) volt a mesterképzéses mechatronikai mérnökhallgató.…”

Peripheral areas and their distinctive characteristics: The case of Hungary

“…As the result of this, extended peripheral areas were formed after the political transition (the current state of which is described below). At the same time, the status of the former peripheries in western and north-western Hungary consisting of typically small villages, began to thrive due to the rapid growth of the region accelerated by direct foreign investments (mainly in the automotive and electronic industry and their related supplier chains) (Molnár et al, 2020) and -especially after 2010 -due to cross-border commuting to Austria (Kiss and Szalkai, 2014;Egedy, 2017).…”

Industry 4.0 in a dualistic manufacturing sector – qualitative experiences from enterprises and their environment, Eastern Hungary

“…As discussed above, the possibilities of Industry 4.0 can be strongly influenced by the characteristics of manufactured products and raw materials used. This includes two possibilities regarding the development of the spatial structure: on the one hand, areas specialised in industries where the achievements of Industry 4.0 can be applied more easily and thus developed and optimised (the automotive industry seems to be, for the time being, the most dy-namic in terms of Industry 4.0 -see Molnár, E. et al 2020) and, on the other hand, it may conserve less dynamically developing, labourintensive activities in less developed areas.…”

“…In value chains managed by foreign parent companies, the role of the limited character of functional upgrading in blocking re-industrialised regions and, at the same time, (quality) functions beyond production detectable in the East re-industrialised late fade differences between the old and new industrial areas, e.g. in automotive industry (Molnár, E. et al 2020).…”