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Stellantis, one of the world’s largest automotive conglomerates, is investing around HUF 20 billion (EUR 52 million) in aiMotive Informatikai Kft., a Hungarian start-up company that it acquired last year. The Hungarian government is supporting the investment with HUF 5 billion (EUR 13 million), the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced at a press conference in Budapest.
Levente Magyar said that Stellantis, owner of fourteen car brands, has chosen Hungary as a center for self-driving technology and electrification. “We are proud that in just 20 years Hungary has become one of the world’s leading automotive powers,” he said, adding that the country is among the top 20 countries in terms of automotive production.
The state secretary stressed that
the future of the automotive industry lies in automated driving and green technologies, which is why it is good news that Hungary is the world’s fourth largest producer of batteries, but could soon be second after China.
He also said that with this investment, the government would further improve its global position in the automotive industry, one of the most important pillars of the national economy.
Levente Magyar, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Photo: MTI//Szigetváry Zsolt
Magyar recalled that aiMotive Informatikai Kft. was founded in 2015, by some young Hungarians, and that Stellantis decided to keep the Hungarian management of the software company after the acquisition.
At the event, Heiko Schilling, Vice President of Software and Artificial Intelligence Development at Stellantis, said that
by 2026, aiMotive’s developments could be installed into cars of fourteen brands under Stellantis.
The Budapest-based company is working on self-driving technology and vehicle electrification in parallel, he added. AiMotive employs more than 200 people, and this number will be increased by 40 for the time being. Schilling noted that in Hungary, the automotive industry was virtually non-existent in the 1990s, and now more than 150,000 people are working in this field, which is an impressive achievement.
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/aiMotive