South Korean tire maker Hankook has completed the third phase of a 313 million euro (HUF 4 billion) investment project in Hungary, in which it has expanded the production capacity of its local plant and added 950 jobs, portfolio.hu reports.

Hungary’s vehicle manufacturing industry produced some EUR 18 bn last year, which amount constitutes 18% of the total Hungarian manufacturing industry output, 10% of Hungary’s GDP and 18% of total Hungarian exports.

Hankook will expand its Hungarian facility in an over HUF 2.4 billion (EUR 8.7 m) investment project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), setting up a new production hall for a new compound mixing unit to increase effectiveness.

““A lot has changed in the past three years since Diplomacy and Trade visited Hankook” says Sang Il Lee, managing director of Hankook Tire Hungary ltd. He proudly states that in 2010, the company exceeded the original target by over 10%.

Higher volume production of car engines, transmission units and tires, EUR hundreds of millions of investments and thousands of jobs – three foreign companies, already based in Hungary, have announced the increase of their capacities.