16/4/2026 |Articles are machine translated
Body production at Škoda Auto. | Photo: Škoda Auto
In the first quarter, a total of 403,315 road vehicles were produced by domestic automotive companies – an increase of 8.3% year-on-year. The largest part of production was made up of passenger cars, of which 396,880 units rolled off the production lines, followed by 1,442 buses, 408 trucks, 385 motorcycles, 3,632 small trailers up to 3.5t and 568 large trailers over 3.5t. Of the total number of vehicles produced, 40% had an electrified drive – 65,809 purely battery-powered, 13,453 plug-in hybrid and 83,542 hybrid.
“Despite growing geopolitical uncertainty and a sluggish start to the European markets in the first two months of this year, the Czech automotive industry has managed to maintain stable and strong performance. Record-high production for the first quarter of this year and growth in the electrified vehicle segment are positive signs not only for the industry but also for the entire domestic economy. However, we are closely monitoring the impact of the conflict in Iran on rising input costs, whether for oil, gas, petrochemical products, or logistics. Although production remains stable, these factors are already beginning to affect costs and will thus work against the recovery of major European markets that we witnessed in March. In any case, the first-quarter results confirm that the Czech automotive industry is capable of holding its own even in this challenging environment,” says Martin Jahn, President of the Automotive Industry Association.
In the first three months of this year, 396,880 passenger vehicles were produced in the Czech Republic, i.e. 8.3% more year-on-year than in the first quarter of the previous year and the highest production result in the first quarter of the year in history. 162,600 electrified vehicles were produced in the given period and their share in domestic car production reached 41%. A total of 65,739 battery BEVs, 13,453 plug-in hybrid PHEVs and 83,408 hybrid vehicles were produced. A total of 27,683 vehicles (6.9%) were destined for the domestic market, i.e. 5.8% more than in the previous year. More than 93% of the cars produced (369,197 units) were destined for foreign markets. Exports recorded an 8.5% increase year-on-year.
The largest domestic automaker, Škoda Auto, produced 267,544 passenger cars (+13.1%) in its domestic plants in January-March. 23,497 vehicles (+6.7%) were placed on the Czech market, while 244,047 vehicles (+13.8%) were destined for foreign markets. The Mladá Boleslav-based automaker produced 67,536 vehicles with external charging, i.e. battery BEVs and plug-in hybrid PHEVs, or 25.2% of the brand’s total domestic production. Of these, 58,393 were purely battery BEVs and 9,143 were plug-in hybrids. The most produced vehicles in March alone were the Octavia, Elroq and Kamiq models.
Hyundai’s Nošovice plant saw a total year-on-year decline in production of 6.3%. The automaker produced a total of 67,000 vehicles in the first quarter. A total of 63,298 vehicles were exported (-6.7%) and 3,702 were placed on the domestic market (-0.6%). Of the total number of vehicles produced, 7,346 had a purely electric drive, 4,310 had a plug-in hybrid drive and 21,072 had a hybrid drive. Overall, electrified vehicles accounted for almost half of the total production.
A total of 62,336 completed vehicles rolled off the production line of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic in Kolín from the beginning of the year to the end of March, which is 6.7% more than in the same period of the previous year. All of the 62,336 vehicles had a hybrid drive. More than 99.2% of the vehicles produced were for export.
In the first quarter, a total of 1,442 buses were produced in the Czech Republic (+9.2%), 150 of which were intended for the domestic market (+44.2%), while a larger number of 1,418 units were destined for export (+15.3%).
Iveco CR in Vysokomyt produced 1,268 buses, i.e. a slight 0.5% less than last year, 1,299 were destined for foreign markets (+7.4%) and 95 (+21.8%) were sold domestically. SOR Libchavy recorded production figures of 168 buses in the first three months of this year, i.e. 127 units, or 309.8% more than last year. 55 buses were placed on the domestic market, 113 units were destined for foreign markets. KHMC produced a total of 6 minibuses in January-March. All of them were destined for foreign markets.
The electrified bus segment comprised a total of 70 purely battery buses in January-March, of which 52 were manufactured at Iveco ČR and 18 at SOR Libchavy. Another 134 hybrid buses were assembled at Iveco ČR.
Tatra Trucks, which is the only representative in the truck segment among the members of the Association of the Automotive Industry, produced 408 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, i.e. 131 units more than in the same period last year (+47.3%). Tatra’s production was mostly exported (246 units), 162 vehicles were placed in the Czech Republic.
In the first three months of the year, the manufacturer Jawa produced 385 motorcycles, which is 216 units more than in the previous year (+127.8%). Of the total production, 170 motorcycles of this brand were placed on the Czech market (+104.8%), 215 machines were exported (+150%).
Between January and March, a total of 4,200 trailers and semi-trailers of all sizes were produced, i.e. 143 more than last year (+3.5%).
In terms of volume, the majority of production was provided by Agados, a company specializing in small trailers up to 3.5 tons. It produced 3,632 of these (+3.4%), sold 1,803 of them domestically (-0.3%), and 1,395 of them abroad (+10.5%).
In the category of large trailers and semi-trailers, there was an overall year-on-year increase in production of +4.4% to a total of 568 units. The Schwarzmüller company produced 417 large trailers, i.e. 0.2% more than last year. It sold 65 units in the Czech Republic, the same as last year, and 352 units abroad (+6.7%). Panav also recorded a year-on-year increase in production, completing a total of 151 trailers (+18.9%). It placed 85 pieces of coupling devices on the domestic market (+10.4%), while 17 pieces were exported abroad (-5.6%).
