The high-speed oval has now been inaugurated in Zalaegerszeg. This high-speed track at the ZalaZONE test facility, with a total length of 4.45 km, allows test vehicles to reach top speeds of up to 250 km/h.
Hungary sees itself as a meeting point for technology leaders from East and West. Leading global car manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, and BYD have established operations here. However, to remain an active player in the modernization of the automotive industry, the country must complement production with innovation, research, and development. Serving this goal is the test track, which received government funding of HUF 45 billion (EUR 110 million in today’s value) in 2016.
The number of manufacturer users is expected to double from just over 50 today to 100. Moreover, the origin of potential partners should no longer be limited to Europe but expanded to include China, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey.
The test track, operated in collaboration with Austrian company AVL, supports the planning activities of automotive corporations. Additionally, it serves other sectors, including the adjacent state-of-the-art Rheinmetall tank factory. A new plant of BMW supplier Flextronics will soon be inaugurated, and Bosch’s local R&D division now employs around 250 researchers.
With the implementation of the third phase of the test track this year, the focus will significantly shift from education-related research to market-oriented operations. For further development, it is essential to build broader cooperation than before with universities, research institutes, government developers, and private companies in the fields of energy, automotive, agricultural, and defense research.