Construction of the Hungarian Magnus Aircraft Factory Starts in China

By October, the factories of Hungarian-owned Magnus Aircraft will be ready for construction in the outskirts of Wuxi, China, where the company will be able to produce aircraft in the Asian country after Hungary.

The company, manufacturing its own light aircraft and developing electric aircraft in the vicinity of Pécs-Pogány airport (in southwestern Hungary), said that the investment will see the construction of a new industrial park in Wuxi on an area of 210,000 square meters. One element of this will be a new production base for Magnus Aircraft. It was announced that

once the units are completed, training of workers will begin and production at the complex is expected to start next year.

According to the company’s earlier announcement, a showroom, an aircraft assembly and maintenance facility, as well as a development center – in cooperation with Óbuda University – will be built in Wuxi, near Shanghai. The 1,500 square meter showroom will open this summer and will display the company’s full range of products.

The Chinese-Hungarian joint venture, Jiangsu Magnus Aircraft Manufacturing, is expected to create 300 jobs and provide a leading role for Hungarian colleagues once the project is completed.

The Chinese investment will be used to produce thousands of two-seater and at least 400 four-seater light aircraft within ten years, mainly for the Chinese, Iranian, and African markets.

The company also pointed out that it would soon be exporting aircraft to three African countries: Libya, Kenya, and Tanzania. In the last two years, four aircraft have been exported to Africa and the United States, three to Europe, and twelve to Asia.

Magnus Aircraft currently employs 80 people in Hungary and 22 in its subsidiaries in the U.S., Kenya, Nigeria, Iran, and China, and has a single production site near Pécs. The company emphasized that more than 30 of its Fusion UL aircraft will be produced this year. It expects to generate sales of HUF 3 billion (EUR 7.6 million) this year and HUF 6 billion (EUR 15.2 million) next year, and wants to increase its workforce in Hungary to 140.

Magnus Aircraft set up an 8,000-square-meter production base at the Pécs-Pogány airport in 2019, with a HUF 2 billion subsidy and a HUF 6 billion investment, and started construction of its new production hall – also costing HUF 6 billion – in April, where it will produce its own four-seat aircraft.

Founded in 2014, Magnus Aircraft achieved net sales of HUF 538 million (EUR 1.3 billion) and a loss of HUF 794 million (EUR 2 million) in 2022. The company previously noted that it expects to deliver positive results this year and in the following years, with exponentially growing sales.

Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/Magnus Aircraft