Hungary PM gives thumbs up to Korean products
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban praised Korean products, saying the country’s brand guarantees quality, Samsung SDI announced Wednesday.
The leader made the remarks during a recent event celebrating the completion of Samsung SDI’s state-of-the-art electric vehicle (EV) battery plant of in the European country.
“In the early 1990s, we first met capitalism together with many new companies and brands. We learned that made-in-Korea products guarantee quality,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.
“Korea set a model for us. It showed us how a diligent small country can become a strong econo- my and hold a strong position in the world. Samsung benchmarked others but it moved ahead on its own. I thank Samsung for opting for Hungary.”
The plant, which is located in Goed, some 30 kilometers north of Budapest, will start to churn out products in the second quarter of 2018.
Sitting on a 330,000 square-meter site, the plant is capable of producing batteries for 50,000 electric cars every year.
The Hungarian factory is expected to enable Samsung SDI to save logistics costs and improve customer service in Europe.
Europe is leading the global EV market based on its environment-friendly policy. As a result, the market for batteries, one of the core parts of EV, is expanding fast.
Samsung SDI’s panel plant has been transformed into one for high-power and high-efficiency batteries.
On top of the Hungarian facility, Samsung SDI has plants in Korea’s Ulsan and China’s Xian.
“For the first time, state-of-the-art technology of Samsung SDI will be applied to batteries to be made in this plant in Hungary,” Samsung SDI President Jun Young-hyun said.
“Batteries are one of the most important parts supplied to global carmakers. I expect the plant to contribute much to the growth of the European EV market.”