30 years after the division of the federation, the Slovak automotive industry is more efficient than the Czech one. Slovakia, with the number of cars produced for every 1,000 inhabitants, holds the world record with 184 cars, in the Czech Republic, according to last year’s data, there are about 105 cars produced for every 1,000 people.
While in 1993 Czechia produced more than 220,000 passenger cars, in Slovakia there were only a few thousand units. Currently, annual production in both countries exceeds one million cars a year, there are three automakers in the Czech Republic, four in Slovakia, and a fifth is on the way. This follows from current data from the car manufacturers’ associations of both countries.
The Škoda brand already operated 30 years ago in the Czech Republic, which Hyundai and Toyota gradually joined in the new millennium. Last year, these automakers produced a total of 1.105 million passenger cars, this year they are expected to surpass the 1.2 million mark. In previous years, production was affected by the covid pandemic, this year it is dealing with shortage of parts and disrupted supply chains.
According to the president of the Automotive Industry Association, Martin Jahn, the industry has been facing a combination of many negative factors for the third year. The demand for new cars remains high, but the production situation remains difficult. It suffers from persistent shortages of chips, the lockdown in China or the interruption of supplies due to the war in Ukraine. The alleged battery factory for electric cars of the VW company in Líny near Pilsen could strengthen the position of the automotive industry in the Czech Republic. However, the concern postponed the decision on the location until next year.
Last year, sales of domestic automakers and component manufacturers increased by 5.9% to 1.102 trillion crowns. The export volume increased by 4.5% to 911.5 billion crowns. The companies in the association managed to keep key employees, their total number increased by 0.8% to 139,228 people. Automakers employ 13% of all manufacturing workers and generate 28% of sales.
While in 1993 Volkswagen alone produced units of a thousand cars in Slovakia, last year more than a million vehicles rolled off the production lines of the Slovakian factories Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Stellantis and Volkswagen, according to data from the Association of the Slovakian automotive industry. In 2019, before the covid-19 outbreak, a record over 1.1 million vehicles were produced in the country. In the past two years, the effects of the coronavirus infection, as well as the shortage of semiconductor components, have affected the vehicle production in the country.
The importance of the automotive industry for the Slovak economy will increase even more in the future. In July this year, Swedish automaker Volvo Cars announced that it will build an electric car production plant in eastern Slovakia.
Last year, the automotive industry accounted for 47.7% of the entire Slovak industry’s sales and almost 43% of the country’s total exports. In Slovakia, with a population of five million, companies in the automotive industry employed a total of 164,000 workers. Numerous component manufacturers are connected to Slovakian car factories in the country.
