Romania has failed to attract an investment from the Daimler automotive group in the construction of an 800m-euro plant, after the German company decided, in the wake of several months of research, to locate the new production unit in Hungary, 80 km away from Budapest.
"In Romania, we cannot have control over delivery terms," explained the German experts, according to some official sources close to negotiations. Unfortunately Romanian authorities could only come up with promises to fight the verdict reached after the two options were considered.
The plant in Romania would have generated turnover worth above one billion euros per year.
The main factor that persuaded the Mercedes producer to choose Hungary was the lack of a rapid transportation infrastructure in Romania.
"It was a very important project for us and we lost it by a whisker. The conditions offered by Romania were better, the project was better supported, but the decision was based on the fact that Hungary already has a highway in the area Mercedes was considering, plus the logistics needed for a rapid link with Western markets. All we could do was promise them that by 2010 the area of Oradea would be linked to the border with a highway. However, the Hungarians already have a highway, not a scale model," the above-quoted sources told ZF.
"Considering our selection criteria, the future plant in Kecskemet clearly offers the best outlook. The location is qualitatively and quantitatively suitable for the creation of a Mercedes-Benz production centre," said Rainer Schmuckle, an operations officer with Mercedes-Benz.
"This is an significant loss. The presence of a third major global player would have helped us become a leading automotive power in Europe, given that premiums cars would have been also involved," commented Constantin Stroe, chairman of the Association of Carmakers in Romania and deputy chairman of Dacia.
The Germans made exact calculations with regard to the costs involved by transport duration. The above-quoted sources said Mercedes wanted to build A-Classe and B-Classe models, with environment-friendly engine systems, for which profit margins are relatively low and any additional cost element is visible.
"Delivery times are crucial, both for parts and for finished products. Nobody risks locating a production unit in an area that does not have easy access".
On the other hand, the official source said Ford took the risk of coming to Romania because it urgently needed to have a plant in the EU.
The Mercedes-Benz production facility would have created 2,500 jobs and would have rolled out at least 100,000 cars after 2010.
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