Unfortunately, Brussels is not run by car factory managers – Orbán at the Audi plant in Győr

"Until now, I thought that our profession – that is, that of politicians – was the most competitive one. We are put to the test once every four years and then find out whether we get to stay or it's goodbye. But seeing the current situation in the automotive industry, I would modify that: the most competitive profession right now is car manufacturing," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at Audi's plant in Győr at the launch of the production of the third generation of the Q3 model.

Orbán was accompanied by Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár. It’s been several years since Audi Hungaria has been visited by such high level dignitaries. It was a two-sided moment, however, because although they were celebrating the launch of a successful model's serial production, the situation in the automotive industry – including at Audi AG – is hardly rosy at present, as Orbán also pointed out several times in his speech. Of course, he also found a way to bring up the “Brussels bureaucrats” at the Győr plant, when saying that “we are faced with serious challenges:

war, energy, and Brussels, which, unfortunately, is not run by car factory managers. Instead, it is led by bureaucrats who have no idea what real competition is.”

According to Orbán, the entire European car industry is forced to “navigate stormy waters,” and “if we cannot liberate it from bureaucratic oppression, it will fall behind.” For example, compared to China. According to the prime minister, however, the Audi Q3 manufactured in Győr is a good example that “if Hungarian experts are allowed to do their job, we are capable of manufacturing at world-class standards.”

He added that "this industry and its consumers must be given back their liberty, because otherwise “we cannot keep our jobs.” According to Orbán, European car manufacturers must work together, we need an alliance in Brussels, otherwise “we will be shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Orbán said that there are around 160,000 families nationwide and 50,000 in Győr alone with job security, thanks to Audi – this is how many people are dependent on the automotive industry (in Hungary -ed), seeing as they work either directly in the industry or are suppliers.

Zoltán Les, Audi Hungaria's director of vehicle management also spoke at the event in Győr, repeatedly emphasizing that thanks to the newly launched Q3 and Cupra Terramar, the factory is providing secure, long-term jobs for its 4,000 employees. Michael Breme, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi in Győr reiterated that the two models will allow the company to boost production to peak-levels. It was obviously no coincidence that he also mentioned the engine plant located next to the car production line, “where the resources for these models come from.”

What situation were they referring to?

Just over a week ago, 444.hu reported that the crisis in the German automotive industry had also reached Audi's plant in Győr, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. The background to the strong statement was that after 2023 and 2024 the number of manufactured engines had declined again, with the document cited by the website indicating that in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, the number of engines manufactured in Győr had fallen by 10 percent. The news site also said that there is great uncertainty and that hundreds of jobs in manufacturing could become redundant in the season ahead, with talk of hidden group layoffs.

There have indeed been and continue to be changes within the factory, sources familiar with the situation have confirmed to Telex. This mainly impacted those employed at the engine factory working on the production of the V6 Otto engine, the R4 gasoline engine, and the diesel R4 TDI. However, under an agreement reached between Audi's management and the almost 9000-strong union reached during the Covid pandemic in 2020, if an employee's job ceases to exist, they must be offered another position within the factory.

This has already been standard practice at Audi in Győr, but not everyone wants to move from the engine plant to the vehicle factory, where the production of the Q3 and Cupra Terramar are in full swing.

According to our information, there are several dozen former employees who opted out of the new contract

(partly because it would mean a pay cut) and chose to leave the factory instead. Those approaching the age of retirement are also offered a so-called retirement program, which is also an option allowing many to leave on good terms, although Audi has not released any figures so far. This is the situation at present, but as one of our sources put it, “there are no death rattles to be heard on the assembly lines for now".

The world premiere of the third-generation of the Audi Q3 was at the company's center in Ingolstadt, Germany in mid-June, where Michael Breme told Telex that the production capacity of the Győr plant is at 185,000 vehicles per year, which they expected to reach with the Cupra Terramar in three shifts, calculating with five working days. Given the rumors that part of the production of the freshly celebrated Q3 would be moved to Audi AG's German headquarters in Ingolstadt, we also asked about this after the world premiere. Breme reiterated that they would only move production volumes over 185,000 out of Hungary. At the same time, it was new information that the body parts of the Q3 will be manufactured in Győr, and only the lacquer job and the assembly will be done in Germany.

Audi Hungaria holds its annual press conference every March, which is when the official figures are announced. This spring, due to the difficulties in Germany that were already well known at that time, we asked how they expect this to affect the size of the work force in Győr. At the time, the president of Audi Hungaria said that "they are expecting similar numbers next year, based on vehicle production being at the maximum-level, which justifies this expectation." However, already then, Breme indicated that some employees would be transferred from engine production to vehicle assembly, where more workers were needed.

It is worth noting the figures which were included in the Győr company's annual report: at the beginning of 2025, Audi Hungaria had 11,431 employees, while in 2023 it employed 11,663 people.