18/9/2023 |Articles are machine translated
Production of the Škoda Enyaq Coupe iV at Škoda Auto Mladá Boleslav. | Photo: Škoda Auto
Since the beginning of the year, a total of 922,446 passenger vehicles have rolled off the production lines in the Czech Republic. This represents a 17.1% increase in production compared to the same period last year. The share of electric vehicles produced is also growing, currently accounting for 12.5% of total production. In the first eight months, 84,499 pure electric and 30,888 plug-in hybrid passenger cars and 16 pure electric buses were produced. In contrast, the summer months of July and August themselves were marked by lower production results. These were caused by planned full-week holidays, but also by unplanned production stoppages due to component shortages. The year-round production results were lower in the bus segment, namely 3 149 units (-6.3%) and 489 units (-63.5%) of motorcycles.
“It’s great news that despite production disruptions at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Kolín and Škoda Auto in Mladá Boleslav and Kvasiny caused by a series of natural events at suppliers, the manufacturers managed to increase total passenger car production by more than 17% year-on-year from January to August. The Czech car industry thus once again supported the performance of the domestic economy and continued its growth trajectory even stronger than the EU market, which grew by 15.2% in the summer months for the twelfth month in a row. Another positive news of the holiday months is the launch of the second generation KONA Electric model by Hyundai of Nosovice, which will support the trend of growing supply of electric vehicles produced in the Czech Republic,” says Zdeněk Petzl, Executive Director of the Association of the Automotive Industry.
From the beginning of this year to the end of August, 922,446 passenger vehicles were produced, which is 17.1% more than in the same period last year. In the summer months, the production trend was affected by the dates of regular full-week holidays and an unplanned, almost month-long shutdown of the Kolín Toyota plant caused by a shortage of plastic parts. These are supplied to the carmaker by Novares CZ Zebrak, whose storage and production facilities were destroyed by a large-scale fire at the end of August. In July, 88,607 vehicles were produced (+3.4%), while in August, as a result of the fire, 95,385 vehicles were produced (-7.9%). Total production in the two summer months was thus 5,243 vehicles lower (-2.8%) than in the same period last year.
The largest domestic carmaker Škoda Auto produced 576,703 passenger cars (+27.3%) at its domestic plants in January-August. 68,245 electric cars (BEVs and PHEVs) were produced, i.e. 11.8% of the brand’s total production. Of these, 56,697 were battery vehicles and 11,548 were plug-in hybrids.
In the first eight months, the Hyundai plant in Nosovice produced a total of 224,100 vehicles, which is 4.9% more than in the same period last year. Of the total number of vehicles, 27,802 were pure electric and 19,340 plug-in hybrids. Overall, electric vehicles produced at the Nosovice car plant account for 21% of total production. Since mid-August, the carmaker has started production of the second-generation KONA Electric crossover, of which 21,000 vehicles are to be produced by the end of the year, with a further 50,000 vehicles to be produced next year. It is therefore evident that the share of electric vehicles produced in Nosovice will increase in the coming months.
121 643 vehicles rolled off the production line of Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Kolin this year, 153 more than in the same period last year. A significant drop in production was then recorded in mid-August (and part of September) itself, when production was unplanned and halted due to a shortage of plastic parts. In August, 8 834 fewer vehicles (-66.9%) were produced than last year. On a positive note, production has resumed as of today, Monday 18 September 2023.
Bus production recorded a slight year-on-year decline, mainly due to the order-oriented nature of production and partly due to some missing components. In the first eight months, a total of 3,149 buses were produced in the Czech Republic, 212 fewer (-6.3%) than in the same period last year. IVECO CR in Vysoké Mýto produced 2,941 buses (-1.8%), while SOR Libchavy produced 198 buses (-41.4%). KHMC, a company focusing on the production of minibuses, produced 10 vehicles in the period, i.e. 3 fewer than in the previous year. In the electric drive segment, a total of 16 battery-powered BEV buses were produced in January-August at SOR’s Libchav plant.
Traditional motorcycle manufacturer JAWA Moto also saw an eight-month decline in production, mainly due to market saturation last year. In January-August, a total of 489 motorcycles (-63.5%) rolled off the domestic brand’s production line, 850 fewer than last year in absolute terms.
