Hungary is now a top global investment site thanks to its political and economic stability, Palkovics told Hungarian public media. Hungarians and Germans share a similar work ethic as well as comparable education and taxation systems, he added.

Commenting on a recent European Union pact to curb the carbon dioxide emissions of new cars by 35% by 2030, Palkovics said this was a good reason why cooperation to implement new technologies was so important.

Accordingly, Hungary is building a new test track for self-driving cars in Zalaegerszeg, in western Hungary, and an agreement signed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Chancellor Angela Merkel will “raise cooperation in innovation and technology to a new level.” BMW announced late in July its plan to build a new plant in Debrecen with capacity to turn out 150,000 conventional and electric vehicles a year and employing more than 1,000 people when production starts.

Earlier in October, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced at the signing ceremony that the government had decided to create a new transport node on the M35 motorway close to the site of the future BMW plant by expanding the access road and constructing a container terminal with an electrified rail link, as well as creating a new telecommunications and gas network.

Before signing the grant agreement with a representative of the German company, he said the government’s 12.3 billion forint (EUR 38.5m) support for BMW’s investment would reap many times that amount in dividends for Hungary.

MTI Photo: Czeglédi Zsolt