Audi expansion in Hungary to create 2,100 jobs

(Adds background, detail, prime minister comments)

GYOR, Hungary, July 7 (Reuters) - Audi will hire 2,100 new workers at its Hungarian unit as it expands the plant into its fourth fully-fledged production capacity, Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler said on Thursday.

Audi said last year it would significantly expand its Hungarian unit, investing a total of about 900 million euros ($1.3 billion) at Gyor in western Hungary.

The payroll will expand more than previously planned due to the construction of a new press shop, which will employ an extra 300 people, Stadler said.

"The new press shop ... will complete the full production cycle in our plant in Gyor," Stadler said. "This will be our fourth full production facility after Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm and Brussels."

Audi, a unit of Volkswagen AG , will lift local production to 125,000 vehicles a year once the expanded plant in Gyor begins full production from 2013, Stadler said.

Previously, Gyor only assembled the TT model, using locally built engines with other parts shipped in from Audi's home plant in Ingolstadt in Bavaria.

Beginning in 2013, Gyor will produce models including the TT roadster, A3 Cabriolet and another A3 derivative, the car maker has said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said the investment would give a significant boost to the economy, worth as much as 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Orban said the country would develop education and other facilities around Gyor to aid Audi's investment. (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by David Holmes)