World news story

Opportunities in automotive and aerospace in emerging Europe

UKTI workshop in Budapest provides market insights and an overview of export opportunities in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
GREAT Regional Automotive and Aerospace Workshop

GREAT Regional Automotive and Aerospace Workshop

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) hosted an automotive and aerospace workshop in Budapest on 24 July 2014. The workshop was part of the GREAT campaign. It gave delegates an overview of current industry trends, outlook for the sector and an insight into market opportunities.

It also enabled UK suppliers of technology and equipment to meet CEE:

  • Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
  • Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), General Managers (GMs) and purchasing managers of Tier 1 and 2 CEE companies

The workshop showcased the best of British technology with UK automotive and aerospace expertise promoted by:

  • Formula 1 consultants
  • universities
  • research centres

Jonathan Knott, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Hungary noted,

The industry in Central and Eastern Europe is increasingly demanding high quality suppliers, with great reputations, history, R&D capabilities and terms of business. And the UK’s automotive supplier base, more than anyone, can provide this.

Find out more about developing your exports in Emerging Europe.

Accessing the CEE market

UK companies can get into this market through:

  • production equipment sales
  • partnership with local companies for production technology transfer
  • Research and Development (R&D) cooperation between universities and engineering companies
  • engineering services to improve technology efficiency and quality
  • provision of logistics, including destination warehouses

Automotive and aerospace sectors in CEE region

The automotive sector is a dynamically developing part of the industrial base of the Emerging Europe markets.

CEE’s automotive sector faces competition from further east and will need to adapt to maintain its competitive edge. UK expertise in innovation and research and development can provide the differentiators to help with this challenge.

The CEE region automotive sector:

  • has £100 billion turnover
  • contributes about 10% to the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
  • has 44 manufacturers
  • produced more than 3.5 million vehicles in 2013
  • increased its output by 170% between 2009 and 2014
  • underpins over half a million jobs

Slovakia had the highest per capita rate of car production in Europe in 2012. The Czech Republic is the region’s biggest carmaker with over 800 companies in the sector. Automotive production in the Czech Republic makes up close to one fifth of the country’s entire industrial output.

The aerospace industry has had double digit growth across central and eastern Europe. However, to access the market UK OEMs need to have a presence in or nearby the region.

Contacts

Contact David Nagy, CEE Regional Lead for Automotive and Advanced Engineering (david.nagy@fco.gov.uk), to find out more about opportunities in CEEs automotive and aerospace sector.

Updates to this page

Published 29 September 2014