15/9/2023 |Articles are machine translated
It would take you a long time to find a text in this issue of Czech Car Industry that does not mention electromobility in some way. It is not that we have deliberately chosen firms and topics that relate to this phenomenon. That is just the way it is. The transition to alternative drives, especially battery-powered ones, is not only employing financial manufacturers, but also, to an equal extent, their suppliers. Staying with the texts in this issue, Continental Barum is supplying tyres as the first equipment for Tesla, Strojmetal is responding to the demand for larger and more stable chassis parts, and the MOTOR JIKOV Group, or its Slévárna division, has a new project for electric vehicles.
The transformation of the automotive industry towards electromobility is also one of the topics of the interview with the president of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Jan Rafaj, who says that he is not worried about the future of the automotive sector. Batteries from electric vehicles and battery storage in general is also a big topic for Kamil Čermák, CEO of ČEZ ESCO.
New trends, including the conditions for the development of electromobility, are also behind a large paper on investment incentives, in which experts from consulting firms express their concerns about the lack of transparency in decision-making about them. Yet, as we know, no major investor will locate battery or chip production in the Czech Republic without significant support. Another comprehensive piece in this issue on China is also related to electro-mobility. The share of Chinese pure electric cars in Europe today is below five per cent, but all indications are that it will grow rapidly.
Jan Rafaj is not the only one calling for market protection against Chinese imports. He considers it necessary to prevent the import of cars that do not correspond to the “green transformation”. But European market protection is complicated. While the French are pressing the European Commission to impose tariffs on ‘unfairly’ cheap Chinese vehicles, the Germans, who have a much greater involvement in China than the French, fear a similar move. In retaliation, German carmakers could lose market share in China, which is already shrinking. It will be even more dramatic. And it should be added that, in relation to China, electric cars will be only one part of the story.
But in truth, this issue is not just about electromobility. You will also find a lot of other information here, for example about Austria as an automotive superpower. One of the few texts that doesn’t mention electromobility at all is about Tomáš Ouředníček’s participation in the upcoming Dakar Rally. He will be driving a Toyota Hilux GR T1+, which has a five-litre V8 engine with 400 horsepower at its heart. But even the Dakar is subject to trends. So far, only half-heartedly, as the Audi e-tron racing last year was powered by batteries, but its power was generated by an on-board combustion engine.
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