Illustrative picture | Photo: VW
The year 2022 was filled with a number of difficult challenges for the Czech automotive industry. Despite persistent shortages of semiconductors and other components, the war in Ukraine, and difficulties in production and logistics chains, a total of 1,249,281 road vehicles of all types were produced in January-December. Thus, after three years of declining production volumes, the Czech car industry again recorded an increase in production of +9.4%. The year-on-year increase in production was recorded by the manufacturers of passenger cars +10.2% (1 217 787 units), buses +7.6% (5 322 units), trucks +6.7% (1 347 units), motorcycles +56.9% (1 624 units) and large trailers over 3.5 t +11.2% (2 441 units). Only the category of small trailers under 3.5 t saw a decline in production -23.2% (20 760 units). The electric vehicle segment exceeded 11% of total motor vehicle production last year, with a total of 134 944 electric passenger cars and 56 electric buses produced.
“The Czech automotive industry has perhaps never in its history been confronted with such extensive challenges as in the past year. In a globally closely interconnected industry, the global semiconductor shortage, difficulties in supply chains and logistics, the reverberations of the COVID epidemic in China, the extreme rise in energy prices, high inflation and the entrenchment of the end of sales of vehicles with traditional combustion engines, and the newly introduced Euro 7/VII emission standard proposal, which significantly threatens the availability of vehicles and the transition to zero-emission mobility, have continued to manifest themselves. In spite of these difficulties, the final manufacturers managed to increase production by +9.4% year-on-year, reaching a volume of 1.25 million vehicles produced. However, we need to prepare for continued volatility and fluctuations in production in 2023. Nevertheless, I believe that the disruptions will be rather short-lived and that overall we will continue to increase production towards pre-crisis levels. Given the existing volume of orders and the continuing good demand for domestic vehicles not only in the EU, we can expect that the automotive industry will have a positive effect on the Czech economy in 2023 as well,” says Martin Jahn, President of the Association of the Automotive Industry.
Passenger vehicles
A total of 1,217,787 passenger vehicles will be produced in the Czech Republic in 2022, up 10.2% year-on-year. The domestic market accounted for 87,736 vehicles, 9.7% less than the previous year. More than 92% of the vehicles produced (1 130 051 units) were destined for foreign markets. By contrast, vehicle exports recorded a 12% increase year-on-year.
ŠKODA AUTO produced a total of 693,032 vehicles (+1.9%) at its domestic plants in 2022. 71,152 vehicles (-11.0%) were placed on the Czech market, while 621,880 vehicles (+3.5%) were destined for foreign markets.
The Cologne plant of Toyota was particularly successful in the year-on-year comparison. Despite the chip crisis, it increased production by 34.9% year-on-year to a total of 202 255 vehicles. Toyota recorded significant growth both in the domestic market (+96.5%) and in exports (+34.4%).
Hyundai of Nosovice also performed positively. In 2022, it produced a total of 322,500 cars (+17.3%), of which 308,243 were exported (+19%) and 14,257 were sold on the domestic market (-10.9%). The TUCSON, the most popular model in the long term, accounted for more than 70% of production.
Of the total number of passenger vehicles produced, 134,944 were electric; this corresponds to a share of 11.0% of total production. 87,086 battery electric vehicles (7.2%) and 47,858 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) (3.9%) were produced. Electric vehicles accounted for 10.4% of ŠKODA AUTO’s production and almost 20% of Hyundai’s production.
Buses
In 2022, 5,322 buses were produced in the Czech Republic (+7.6%), 649 buses were destined for the domestic market (-5.5%), and the remaining 4,591 were exported (+0.0%). IVECO CR in Vysoké Mýto produced 4,766 buses, 9.2% more than in the previous year. SOR Libchavy managed to produce 520 buses (-5.8%), of which 42 were pure electric (i.e. a share of 8.0%). ŠKODA Electric produced 14 buses last year.
Trucks
TATRA Trucks, the only manufacturer of trucks among the members of the Association of the Automotive Industry, had another successful year. In 2022, it produced 1,347 vehicles, 85 more than in 2021 (i.e. +6.7%). Tatra’s production was directed both to export (629 units) and to domestic sales, for which 697 vehicles were destined.
Motorcycles
Production of JAWA Moto motorcycles also increased in 2022. The total number of 1,624 machines produced marks a significant year-on-year increase of 56.9%. JAWA’s performance was particularly strong on the Czech market, with 1,017 units sold (+28.6%). 607 machines were exported (+148.8%).
Trailers
In the trailers segment, the total number of trailers and semi-trailers produced was 23 201, down by 20.6% year-on-year. The overall decline in the segment was mainly due to AGADOS, which produces small trailers up to 3.5 t. In 2022, it produced a total of 20 760 units, 23.2% less than in the previous year. In the Czech Republic, the company sold 11,570 units (-30.0%). 9,742 units (-3.6%) were exported. On the other hand, year-on-year growth was recorded by manufacturers in the segment of large trailers and semi-trailers. PANAV produced 475 trailers and semi-trailers, 63 units more than last year (+15.3%). 390 units were delivered in the Czech Republic and 78 units were exported. Schwarzmüller’s production also increased, producing 1,966 large trailers in 2022 (+10.2%). The same number of trailers as in the previous year, 776 units (+0.0%), were sold domestically this year, while 1,665 units (+19.2%) were exported.
