Workers at Hungarian Suzuki will get paid during shutdown - production can resume on 20 September 

The global chip shortage has led to major disruptions in motor vehicle production, and the Hungarian economy has also been affected by this problem. At the end of August 

two domestic car manufacturing plants, Mercedes in Kecskemét and Suzuki in Esztergom announced that they would have to shut down production for a short period due to chip shortages.

In connection with this, növekedés.hu contacted Magyar Suzuki Zrt. to find out what is to be expected in one of the most significant factories in Hungary, where the models of the favourite car brand of Hungarians are manufactured. 

Production can resume on the 20th 

If all goes well, it seems the shutdown will not have to be long;

it was scheduled between 6-18 September, 

and Suzuki is currently preparing to restart production on September 20th – the company told növekedés.hu.

Everyone will get paid 

The company will ensure that all workers get their wages for the shutdown period in September,

which affects approximately 2,000 employees working in production. 

Whatever the circumstances, the goal of the Hungarian car manufacturer has been to strengthen its own workforce for years, which means greater security for Magyar Suzuki and its employees, and a more stable team and operations closer to the company's corporate culture. Fortunately, development projects will not be halted, either. 

They will continue developments related to the "smart factory"; 

they will further automate material handling and transform and improve the direct work environment of their employees. In line with the environmental objectives of the Japanese parent company, they are taking further steps towards carbon neutrality.

They are following sales plans 

The shortage of raw materials can obviously jeopardize sales at a time when the market is characterized by strong demand, so we asked Hungarian Suzuki how they can satisfy customer needs. They say they have had and are still having difficulties; however, 

they have been able to keep to their annual sales plans so far. 

Currently, they can still sell from stock, and waiting times have not changed so far for models produced in small quantity.

Their goal is to maintain their market leader position 

This year, they have planned to produce approximately 143,000 cars in Esztergom, but market conditions and orders are always taken into account when production target numbers are determined. At the same time,

annual plans have not changed in the domestic market so far because of the global chip shortage, so they want to be market leaders in 2021 as well. 

An important milestone in this is that, based on the latest numbers, they maintain their market-leading position with a firm market share of 14.72% and 12,518 registered new vehicles.

Cars affordable for a wide range of customers 

Of course, this situation could even cause price changes, so we also inquired about the expected developments in this field at the Esztergom manufacturer. They point out that 

they always try to price their models well when they are launched on the market

so they believe that their products have good value for money. However, it must be accepted that 

the use of new technologies, mainly those aimed at decreasing emissions, and the cost of introducing alternative new drive systems will cause prices to grow. 

However, the goal of Hungarian Suzuki is to continue to make driving accessible to a wide range of people.

It lasts longer than expected 

Unfortunately, the global chip shortage did not improve in the first half of this year, so all Magyar Suzuki Zrt. can do is to continuously monitor and analyse the market situation and adapt to it as flexibly as possible, while 

constantly working with their suppliers to ensure a smooth supply of components, 

Suzuki said in summary to the question of how the company can manage global raw material shortages.