17/6/2025 |Articles are machine translated
The current issue of the Czech Car Industry magazine is – in the broadest sense of the word – European. In fact, it focuses on the Automotive Action Plan recently presented by the European Commission. The ambitious document is intended to be a compass for the transformation of the entire sector towards greater sustainability, competitiveness and technological innovation. It sounds promising. But will it be enough? From our perspective: a promising start, yes, but without concrete steps and executive courage, the whole plan will remain just one of many strategic manifestos that end up in a drawer. Europe needs not only a strong vision, but above all the ability to turn it into reality. And that is what it will be all about.
There is a lot at stake in Brussels and Strasbourg – not only the direction of future mobility, but also the credibility of the EU institutions. In this article, aptly titled Is Brussels Softening?, we discuss the changes in the approach to the Green Deal and other legislation. The message from Brussels is that “targets are not being abandoned, only simplified”. But how can we tell if there is any will to change? How much time and human capacity has it cost to create the regulations that we are now tediously ‘simplifying’? Economist Miroslav Singer, interviewed in this issue, aptly names one of Europe’s (and the Czech Republic’s) ills: we like strategies. But once they are written, there is a false sense that the work is over. Fortunately, there is no shortage of good news in the Czech auto industry. Despite the global turbulence, Škoda Auto remains the sector’s driving force. Last year it recorded excellent results and at the same time confirms its international potential: it is expanding not only commercially but also in terms of production on Asian markets.
Alongside the well-known names, we also bring you less publicised but still big stories. In an interview with Margita Rejchrtová, we take a look behind the scenes of the engineering company Tawesco, a company without which – with a bit of exaggeration – not a single Škoda would have been built. It would be hard to find a better example of the crucial role played in the supply chain by companies that are not usually talked about.
Equally important are other component manufacturers such as BCS Automotive Interface Solutions – a specialist in “buttons” without which the car’s cabin would be a dysfunctional shell. Or Piston Rings, a manufacturer of piston rings, which is coping with the decline in demand from the sector by diversifying into other industries.
Back to the European theme. The picture would not be complete without a look at Germany, whose condition significantly affects the whole region, and the Czech economy most of all. We see how companies there are coping with stagnation, sometimes radically: by shifting production to the USA. And it is America – and Donald Trump’s decisions, which have repeatedly surprised the world – that form the backdrop to the following text. The latter focuses on Canada and recalls, among other things, the history of its customs relations with its southern neighbour.
The text on Canada is aptly titled An Uncertain Season. In today’s world, it could be a universal headline.
We believe that in this issue of Czech Car Industry you will find not only information but also inspiration.
to read
