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AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. develops and produces drive systems in Győr, Hungary, for AUDI AG and other companies in the Volkswagen Group. The company produces more than 170,000 Audi vehicles annually and body components for Audi and the Volkswagen Group’s exclusive and sport models. Moreover, Audi Hungaria offers the entire Volkswagen Group various competence-oriented services.

Since its foundation in 1993, Audi Hungaria has become one of the country's largest exporters and most profitable companies. Audi Hungaria is also one of the largest foreign investors in Hungary and the biggest employer in the region, with 11,663 employees as of December 31, 2023.

Engine production

The site has manufactured drive systems for Audi and the Volkswagen Group since 1994. Over the years, the company has become the largest powertrain factory in the world. In 2023, Audi Hungaria produced 1,660,425 powertrains in Győr for 35 Volkswagen Group production sites.

Of the engines manufactured in 2023, 1,164,289 were three- and four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines.
The site’s employees also produced 19,734 five-cylinder gasoline engines, 277,0081 six-cylinder gasoline engines, 78,905 six-cylinder diesel engines, and 6,216 ten-cylinder engines. Additionally, 114,058 electric axle drive units were manufactured in Győr.

In all, Audi Hungaria built five different gasoline and two diesel engine variants in 2023, as well as two families of electric drive systems with a power spectrum from 90 kW (122 PS) to 180 kW (244 PS).

Electric axle drives have been produced in Győr since 2018. In the intervening years, its share of total production volume has risen sharply. The electric motors are installed in the
Audi Q8 e-tron, Audi Q5 e-tron and Porsche Macan.

The new electric drive systems for the Group’s fully electric models will also be supplied from Győr. They are based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), developed jointly with Porsche. In 2012, a new manufacturing area was set up to produce them.

A new manufacturing area is also being installed for the new MEBeco (Modular Electric Drive Toolkit) drives. Audi Hungaria will then produce a new family of electric motors with greater vertical integration. For example, Audi Hungaria will mass-produce the sheet metal package for electric motors for the first time. Rotors and power electronics will also be produced in Győr in the future. The powertrains will later be used in the Volkswagen Group's small electric cars.

Automobile production

Győr has been producing automobiles for 26 years now. Automotive production at Audi Hungaria began in 1998 with the Audi TT Coupé series production. The company currently produces the Audi Q3 and Q3 Sportback. It set a new record in automotive production in 2023 by making 176,493 Audi models.

Audi Q3 models reached the highest numbers, with 94,283 units. In addition, 73,806
Audi Q3 Sportback models were built. Of the Audi TT models produced, 6,850 were TT Coupés and 2,681 were TT Roadsters. After 25 years of production, Audi ceased production of TT models in 2023. But its legacy lives on in 662,762 iconic vehicles.

In addition to the sporty Q variants, the Audi RS Q3 and RS Q3 Sportback, the Audi Hungaria product portfolio includes the Q3 and Q3 Sportback models with a mild hybrid drivetrain (MHEV, Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles). Both models feature a Győr 1.5-liter TFSI engine in combination with a 48-volt main electrical system and a belt alternator starter (BAS). The first plug-in hybrid vehicle from Audi Hungaria, an Audi Q3 Sportback, rolled off the line in early December 2020. In May 2022, Audi Hungaria produced its 100,000th hybrid drive model.

The Q3 and Q3 Sportback models produced in 2023 included 24,579 plug-in hybrids and 5,393 mild hybrids. The company has integrated plug-in hybrid production into its existing production process. Around 1,500 employees were prepared and trained for that purpose. In addition, numerous Hungarian employees were able to assist and gain experience by doing production work on the Audi e-tron in Brussels, the Volkswagen ID.3 in Zwickau, and the commencement of the Seat Leon PHEV in Martorell.

Production celebrated multiple anniversaries in 2023 when the 2,000,000th vehicle, among them 700,000 Q3 / Q3 SB models, rolled off the line.

Technical development

Audi Hungaria opened its Technical Development department in 2001. Staffed by 673 specialists, its drive system development and total vehicle development divisions are now AUDI AG’s third-largest technical development unit and provide development services to almost the entire Volkswagen Group.

Drive system development carries out complete development projects on various conventional and electric drive modules. Moreover, the division’s development portfolio includes the vehicle integration of drive modules, powertrain applications, and chassis system development. Audi Hungaria covers the entire development spectrum, from construction to thermodynamics and from numerical simulations to trials on the test bench and in the vehicle. To that end, drive system development can draw on 18 test stands for combustion engines and four for electric axle drives. These include two for acoustic tests and four climate test benches for simulated environmental testing. As part of its leadership in different types of development, the department is responsible for international powertrain projects.

Another core responsibility is supervising the series production of various drive systems from the development side. In the future, entire drive systems will be developed here, which will largely shape the dynamics and experience of the vehicle.

Total vehicle development works on a project basis from conception to the series supervision phase on issues pertaining to acoustics, thermal, energy, and water management, ground clearance, engineering strength, product data management, and technical conformity. The focus is on the virtual development of overall vehicle characteristics with the help of numerical simulations and E/E integration using hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) applications.

Moreover, engine and vehicle tests in the test center and road tests with customer-oriented working loads are an important part of the competency portfolio.

In the coming years, Technical Development will expand under the aegis of electric mobility. Over the next two years, Audi Hungaria will invest tens of millions of euros in TD (Technical Development) in Győr. It will focus on creating another test stand for developing electric axle drives and their transmissions and modernizing the existing test stand infrastructure.

Tool shop

The tool shop was founded in 2005. With three fields of activity, namely “toolmaking,” “plant and fixture construction,” and “exclusive series production”, it currently employs about 700 people and, with approximately 60,000 square meters (646,000 sq. ft.) of interior space, is one of the biggest of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, the shop’s portfolio covers a broad spectrum, from design and feasibility assessment and production simulation to method planning and construction to equipment production, commissioning, series transfer, and body component manufacturing.

In particular, the production of body components in the “exclusive series production” area has seen a significant uptick in volume in recent years, reaching a record 41,375 sets of body components delivered in 2023.

At the area's core is a flexible production concept that enables the economical production of high-quality body components in small batches. The breadth of value creation here spans producing sophisticated individual parts and assembling individual parts into ready-to-install components, such as doors and tailgates.

One of the main clients is Audi Sport, with its R8 models, the Audi R8 sports car, and the Audi e-tron GT quattro*. The e-tron GT quattro* accounted for more than 12,700 component sets. That makes the all-electric Gran Turismo the tool shop’s highest-volume car project. Győr exclusive series production manufactures all the aluminum components – doors, fenders, and flaps – for the e-tron GT quattro*.

Other tool shop clients include the Italian sports car manufacturer Lamborghini; aluminum components are supplied for the Lamborghini Urus SUV, the Huracán sports car, and the Lamborghini Aventador supercar. The Bentley brand is also a customer, with body parts for the Bentley Bentayga produced in Győr.

The founding of subsidiary AUDI HUNGARIA AHEAD Kft.

In addition to 30 years of experience in powertrain and vehicle construction, Audi Hungaria is increasingly focusing on developing services based on its employees’ skills and offered to the entire Volkswagen Group. These are primarily services that flow into the customers’ value chains.

With their help, processes and activities can be designed more uniformly and efficiently to realize more synergies within the Group. All these services form the Shared Competence Center, which consists of the Shared Competence Center virtual division of AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. and AUDI HUNGARIA AHEAD Kft.

AUDI HUNGARIA AHEAD Kft. was founded in 2023 as a wholly owned subsidiary of AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. and began operations with around 400 employees. The subsidiary’s portfolio includes a subset of services not closely related to production in Győr, such as all procurement and parts of IT and Finance.

The SCC virtual division of AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. consists of Technical Development (powertrain development and total vehicle development), Current Accounts (controlling, taxes/customs/state subsidies), production-related services and additional services (Legal).

Flexible and efficient logistics

The company relies on smart solutions – not only in production but also in logistics. Audi Hungaria is building a modern logistics infrastructure to make production run smoothly. Integrated smart solutions, such as modern, driverless transport systems and vehicles, and digital aids also support logistical processes. Driverless transport vehicles (FTFs) autonomously transport components to work stations – such as Audi Hungaria’s assembly line-free electric engine production. They orient themselves in the hall with laser scanners and look for the optimal route. Algorithms and machine learning controlled by a smart IT system in the control console make this highly flexible procedure possible.
Audi Hungaria uses holographic displays to design more efficient production processes in a unique way in the automotive industry. When plug-in hybrid models arrive, the device displays a holographic video and a warning message for employees on the production line.
Audi Hungaria has two logistics centers with a total area of 160,000 square meters (1,722,226 sq. ft.)

Corporate quality

Audi Hungaria’s quality management system is based on DIN EN ISO 9001:2015; the TÜV (German technical inspection association) confirmed its effectiveness with very good results. Corporate quality is embedded in every division of the company, from development and planning to production to the service process. That allows the high quality of the powertrains produced at the Győr site to keep advancing with the help of the most up-to-date testing technology.

Consistent testing process planning is the foundation for vehicle conformity in the reproduction process. The effectiveness of quality management is evident in high levels of customer satisfaction, which was confirmed by the 2023 J.D. Power customer satisfaction study in the US.