Mercedes-Benz will establish its first research and development centre in Hungary, expanding its engineering footprint with a new facility dedicated to prototype testing and early-stage hardware and software development, the Hungarian government said on Thursday.
Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, announced that the German automaker will invest around €55 million (HUF 21.6 billion) in the project, located at Mercedes’ plant in Kecskemét. He added that the investment will be supported by HUF 4.3 billion (€11 million) in government funding. Although Mercedes has not detailed the full scope of operations, Szijjártó said the centre will involve “the testing of prototypes” and added in a Facebook post that “the engineers here are involved in the early hardware and software development phase of vehicle development and everything that is developed here for cars based on new electric platforms to be used by Mercedes.”
Hungarian engineers are expected to play a significant role at the site, which Szijjártó said was “very rare” for a country of Hungary’s size. The initiative further strengthens local involvement in the development of future electric platforms. Jörg Burzer, Head of Production, Quality and Supply Chain at Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said during the launch event that the R&D expansion would enhance the integration of prototypes for upcoming EV architectures. “This close German-Hungarian or Hungarian-German cooperation in the context of prototype development and its integration is considerably extending the portfolio of the Kecskemét site towards innovation and development,” Burzer said.
The Kecskemét plant, operational since 2012, has produced more than two million vehicles to date and has received over €1 billion in investment aimed at expanding production capacity and digitalisation. According to reports, its production area has “virtually doubled,” with space to manufacture up to 300,000 units annually. Additional investments will include new body and battery assembly facilities as part of the site’s ongoing expansion.
