VIP cash grants 2010–2026: who received aid, for what investments, and in what amounts?

VIP cash grants have been a key element of Hungary’s investment promotion system for more than two decades. Data on grant agreements concluded between 2010 and 2026 show clearly how the focus of government investment promotion—and of investors entering Hungary—has evolved: large automotive manufacturing investments were gradually joined by business service centres, research and development projects, and later by battery industry investments.

The analysis below is based on the publicly available database of concluded VIP cash grant agreements. The dataset includes, by company, the supported activity, the number of new jobs committed, the investment volume, the grant amount and the date on which the grant agreement was signed. It is important to note that the 2026 dataset does not cover a full year: the latest entry available in the database dates from April 2026, after which responsibility for the incentive scheme was transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Ministry for National Economy and Energy.

The full official list is available here: concluded VIP cash grant agreements.

What do the concluded VIP cash grant agreements show between 2010 and 2026?

The most important takeaway from the available database is that VIP cash grants vary significantly in terms of project size, project type and aid intensity.

At the beginning of the 2010s, the database was dominated by large industrial investments and substantial job creation commitments. In 2011, for example, Audi’s HUF 251.3 billion automotive manufacturing investment received HUF 13 billion in aid and included a commitment to create 1,800 new jobs, while Opel’s HUF 124.3 billion engine manufacturing project received HUF 6.1 billion in aid and involved the creation of 834 new jobs.

Later, between 2016 and 2019, the portfolio of projects receiving VIP cash grants became significantly more diversified. Alongside manufacturing capacity expansions, a growing number of R&D projects, regional business service centres, logistics investments and, later, energy-related developments appeared.

The shift is particularly visible in 2023, when the database includes a large number of solar, energy-efficiency, heat-pump and energy-storage projects. One reason for this was the launch of the temporary Factory Rescue Programme in November 2022.

The trend visible in the grant agreements also reflects the economic policy shift introduced around 2024, which placed greater emphasis on investments in southern Hungary, high-value-added manufacturing and service activities, and R&D projects.

What size investments received VIP cash grants in Hungary between 2010 and 2026?

The range of investment volumes in the database spans several orders of magnitude. It includes training and energy projects worth a few hundred million forints, while the largest industrial investments reach hundreds of billions, and in some cases even thousands of billions, of forints.

Battery industry projects stand out among the largest investments. CATL’s agreement signed in December 2025 records an investment volume of HUF 2,712.6 billion, accompanied by HUF 129.367 billion in aid. Samsung SDI’s agreement signed in October 2025 covers an investment of nearly HUF 954.9 billion and HUF 133.018 billion in aid.

This represents a significant change compared with the first half of the 2010s. Although projects worth hundreds of billions of forints already existed at that time—for example Audi’s HUF 251.3 billion investment in 2011—the battery industry projects of the 2020s introduced a new scale to investment promotion.

At the same time, VIP cash grants were not limited to mega-projects during this period. The 2023 database includes numerous energy-efficiency projects ranging from HUF 200 million to several billion forints, while training and business service centre projects include even smaller investments. Over the period as a whole, VIP cash grants were therefore not exclusively an instrument for supporting “mega projects”; an increasing number of investment projects implemented by mid-sized companies also entered the supported project portfolio.

What grant amounts were awarded under VIP cash grant agreements between 2010 and 2026?

Grant amounts vary just as widely as project sizes. Smaller training and business service projects may involve aid of only a few tens or hundreds of millions of forints, whereas the largest industrial investments are associated with aid amounts of several tens of billions, and in some cases more than HUF 100 billion. Aid for the largest investment projects was typically subject to approval by the European Commission.

The largest aid amounts awarded between 2010 and 2026 were:

The table shows that nominal grant amounts have increased significantly, but this should not be interpreted simply as evidence of a more generous aid policy. The size of supported investments has also grown by orders of magnitude, while individual projects have been implemented under different State aid rules, regional aid intensities and eligible-cost structures. Eligible costs are also not necessarily identical to the total investment volume represented by a project; the overall investment in the background may in fact be significantly higher.

What aid intensity is typical for VIP cash grant investments between 2010 and 2026?

A simple ratio calculated from the database—grant amount divided by recorded investment volume—shows substantial variation.

For CATL’s 2025 agreement, this ratio is approximately 4.8%; for Samsung SDI’s capacity expansion agreement signed in the same year, around 13.9%; and for W-SCOPE, approximately 20.1%. BMW’s 2018 investment of HUF 34.2 billion received HUF 12.3 billion in aid, equivalent to approximately 36% of the recorded eligible investment costs. According to the database, the project also included a commitment to create 645 new jobs.

These ratios should not automatically be interpreted as the actual economic aid intensity in every case. They are better understood as ratios based on the values recorded under the applicable legal framework. The investment volume shown in the database corresponds to eligible costs under State aid rules and does not necessarily equal the project’s full investment volume.

The historical data therefore indicate that there is no single “typical VIP cash grant percentage.” The actual level of aid depends on the specific parameters and individual characteristics of each project.

What types of investments received VIP cash grants between 2010 and 2026?

At the beginning of the period, the automotive sector played a particularly prominent role. Audi, Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, Continental and numerous automotive suppliers received aid to establish or expand manufacturing capacity.

This period also saw the expansion of some of the largest business service centres in Hungary. In 2014, the IT Services Hungary service centre project involved the creation of 720 new jobs, while Citibank’s IT and financial services project created 250 new jobs. In 2017, IBM Data Storage Systems expanded the business services market with a regional service centre creating 410 new jobs, while in 2018 the BP Business Service Centre added a further 500 new jobs.

From the 2020s onwards, three additional trends became particularly visible: the battery industry, energy efficiency and research and development.

What role does job creation play in VIP cash grant projects?

The data reveal one of the clearest structural changes in this area, reflecting an important regulatory change: for VIP cash grant projects launched from October 2019 onwards, the creation of new jobs was no longer a mandatory requirement.

At the beginning of the 2010s, large projects were typically accompanied by significant headcount commitments. Audi’s 2011 investment created 1,800 new jobs, Opel’s project created 834, and Infineon’s 2013 investment created 533 new jobs, with the companies also committing to maintain those positions.

In later years, however, the wording “no additional headcount commitment” appears increasingly often in the database. Samsung SDI’s and CATL’s major 2025 investments are both recorded in this way, reflecting the regulatory change described above.

The amendment to the rules was driven by a broader shift in economic policy. For many years, the incentive scheme primarily served employment expansion objectives, but from the end of 2019 greater emphasis was placed on the development of existing production technologies, productivity gains and higher value added.

What can a company planning an investment learn from previous VIP cash grants?

One clear conclusion emerges from the historical data: consistent with the nature of the scheme, VIP cash grants have been used to support individual investment, R&D and business service centre expansion projects. There is no universally “good” or “bad” project, but the individual characteristics of a project can significantly influence the amount of aid available.

At the same time, the range of VIP cash grant opportunities has continuously expanded over the past decade and a half in line with prevailing investment promotion policy. Looking ahead, the key question is not whether VIP cash grants will continue to exist, but rather which economic and investment policy objectives they will be designed to serve, and how corporate projects can be aligned with those objectives.

The aid potential of a new investment, R&D project or service activity should therefore always be assessed by considering the location, industry, investment volume, activity, eligible costs, company size, new jobs and other commitments together.

You can read more about currently available VIP cash grant schemes and aid opportunities here: VIP cash grants for large companies.