Illustrative picture | Photo: ŠKODA AUTO
Passenger vehicle production jumped 9.3% year-on-year to a total of 1,118,639 units in the first 11 months. In November itself, however, there was a slight decline in production volume (-4.6%, i.e. 118 264 units). This was mainly due to persistent shortages of certain parts and tight logistics chains. Despite these challenges, vehicle production is successfully overcoming the crisis years 2020 and 2021. Production in other segments of the motor vehicle industry is also thriving, with 4,859 buses (+12.9%) and 1,557 motorcycles (+59.9%) produced in the first eleven months. The electric vehicle segment is surpassing 11% of total domestic motor vehicle production. By the end of November, 124,202 electric passenger cars and 44 electric buses had been produced.
“The very good news is that, despite persistent difficulties in production and logistics chains, final manufacturers continue to increase production towards pre-crisis levels. Automotive production in the Czech Republic has increased by 9.3% year-on-year in the first eleven months and we will undoubtedly surpass the production volumes of the 2020 and 2021 covid years. Given the existing volume of vehicle orders, we can expect the automotive industry to continue to have a positive effect on the Czech economy in 2023. However, the situation in supply chains remains very tight. We therefore also very much welcome the government’s decision to cap energy prices for large companies. In addition to maintaining competitiveness on European markets, this will give companies greater certainty in planning production capacity for the coming months. Even so, the Czech car industry must prepare for continued volatility and production fluctuations in the coming year 2023, says Zdeněk Petzl, Executive Director of the Association of the Automotive Industry.
Passenger vehicles
From January to the end of November, 1,118,639 passenger vehicles were produced in the Czech Republic, up 9.3% year-on-year. In absolute terms, 94 867 more passenger cars were produced in the period. On the other hand, in monthly comparison, the production of passenger vehicles fell by -4.6%, from 123,917 in November 2021 to 118,264 in November 2022. Electric vehicles were produced 124,202 units from January to the end of November, and their share in domestic car production exceeded 11.10%. In November alone, 11,373 electric vehicles were produced, including 7,035 battery BEVs and 4,338 plug-in hybrid PHEVs.
In the first eleven months, ŠKODA AUTO, the largest domestic carmaker, produced 636,054 passenger cars (+0.9%) at its domestic plants, of which 69,485 were produced in September alone (-16.4%). ŠKODA produced 65,248 electric cars (battery BEVs and plug-in hybrid PHEVs), i.e. 10.3% of the brand’s total production. More than three-quarters of the electric cars produced were fully electrified vehicles (BEVs).
Hyundai’s Nosovice plant continues its growth trend. So far this year, it has produced a total of 296,900 passenger cars, 15.5% more than in the first eleven months of last year. Production was also up year-on-year in November, with 27,100 vehicles produced (+6.7%). Of the total, 27,761 vehicles were pure electric and 31,193 were plug-in hybrid, making electric vehicles account for more than 19.9% of total production.
At Toyota of Cologne, November production was also significantly higher year-on-year. In total, Toyota produced 185,685 vehicles (+36.1%) in the first eleven months of the year. Hybrid vehicles (HEVs) accounted for almost 40% of production.
Buses
In the first eleven months, 4,859 buses were produced in the Czech Republic (+12.9%), In November alone, production was 1.3% higher than in the previous year, with a total of 563 units produced.
IVECO CR in Vysoké Mýto produced 4,369 buses, 13.4% more than in the same period last year. SOR Libchavy managed to produce 455 buses in the first eleven months of this year, i.e. 6.8% more than last year. Thirty of the brand’s buses are electric (i.e. a share of 6.6%). ŠKODA Electric produced 14 electric buses and the manufacturer KHMC 21 buses in the period.
Motorcycles
The manufacturer JAWA Moto also continues to be successful. From January to November 2022, the company produced 1,557 motorcycles (+59.9%). In October, a total of 69 motorcycles rolled off the domestic brand’s production line.
