Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquin Almunia said the investment would create 975 jobs in Gyöngyöshalász in northern Hungary and “contribute significantly” to the region’s development “without unduly distorting competition”.

Hungary earlier notified the EC of plans to support the construction of the tyre plant with a direct 48.2 million euro grant, a 2.8 million euro employment grant and tax allowances of around 44.7 million euros. The project involves investments worth 442.2 million euros.

The EC found that the market shares of Apollo Tyres for passenger car tyres, light truck tyres and tyres for trucks and buses in the European Economic Area (EEA) would stay below 25% after the investment.

Moreover, the production capacity created by the investment remains under 5% of the market.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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