17/7/2023 |Articles are machine translated
Paint shop at Škoda Auto in Mladá Boleslav | Photo: Škoda Auto
In the first half of 2023, a total of 738,454 passenger vehicles were produced in the Czech Republic, 21.7% more than in the same period of the previous year. The month of June itself also recorded a 14% increase, with a total of 142,874 passenger vehicles rolling off the lines of domestic manufacturers. On the other hand, a decrease in production volumes was recorded by manufacturers of other segments – buses -4.3% (2,511 units), trucks -0.6% (649 units), motorcycles -67.2% (371 units), small trailers up to 3.5 t -26% (9,205 units) and large trailers over 3.5 t -22.2% (997 units). Production in the electric vehicle segment has further increased and currently accounts for 12.3% of total motor vehicle production. Thus, in the first two quarters of 2023, a total of 66,771 pure electric and 24,514 plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles were produced.
“The stabilizing situation and the approaching pre-crisis production rate in the passenger car segment are very positive news not only for the Czech automotive industry, but also for the entire domestic economy. In the first half of 2023, over 738 thousand passenger vehicles were produced. The almost twenty-two percent increase in production, the addition of shifts and the shortening delivery time of new vehicles to customers thus confirm the renewed vitality of the car industry as the engine of the Czech economy. However, lower production volumes in other vehicle segments, caused by the cyclical nature of orders and persistent shortages of some components, suggest that we will have to reckon with the effects of faltering supply chains in some categories during the second half of 2023,” says Martin Jahn, President of the Association of the Automotive Industry.
In the first six months of this year, 738,454 passenger vehicles were produced in the Czech Republic, i.e. 21.7% more than in the same period of the previous year. Electric vehicles produced 91 285 units in the period and their share in domestic car production rose to 12.4%. A total of 66 771 battery BEVs and 24 514 plug-in hybrid PHEVs were produced. A total of 53 384 vehicles were delivered to the domestic market, 19.6% more than in the previous year. Almost 93% of the vehicles produced (685,070 units) were destined for foreign markets, which means that vehicle exports increased by 21.8% year-on-year.
Škoda Auto, the largest domestic carmaker, produced 464,353 passenger cars (+32.3%) at its domestic plants in January-June. 43,922 vehicles (+23.8%) were placed on the Czech market, while 420,431 vehicles (+33.2%) were sent to foreign markets. 53,400 electric vehicles (battery BEVs and plug-in hybrid PHEVs) were produced by Škoda Auto, i.e. 11.5% of the brand’s total production. Of these, 44,442 were battery BEVs and 8,958 were plug-in hybrids.
The Hyundai plant in Nosovice also did well in the year-on-year comparison. The plant produced a total of 177,100 vehicles in the first two quarters, i.e. 6.2% more than in the same period last year. A total of 169,558 vehicles were exported (+6.8%) and 7,542 were sold on the domestic market (-6.7%). Of the total number of vehicles produced, 22,329 were pure electric and 15,556 were plug-in hybrid. Overall, electric vehicles accounted for 21.4% of total production.
Toyota Cologne also recorded higher production figures year-on-year. 97,001 cars were produced, i.e. 8.9% more than in January-June 2022. In absolute terms, 7,898 more passenger cars were produced in Cologne in the period. A total of 95,081 vehicles were exported (+8%) and 1,920 (+74.5%) were registered domestically. Hybrid vehicles (HEVs) accounted for almost half of production.
In the first two quarters, 2,511 buses were produced in the Czech Republic (-4.3%), 190 buses were destined for the domestic market (-59.1%), and the remaining 2,487 were exported (+20.1%). In IVECO CR in Vysoké Mýto, 2,331 buses were produced, i.e. 0.2% less than last year, 2,340 were destined abroad (+17.9%) and 157 buses (-40.8%) were sold domestically. In the first half of this year, SOR Libchavy produced 172 buses, i.e. 37.2% less than last year, of which 33 (-83.4%) were destined for the domestic market and 139 (+85.3%) buses of this brand went abroad. The manufacturer KHMC produced 8 buses during the period, all of them destined for export.
TATRA Trucks, which is the only manufacturer of trucks among the members of the Association of the Automotive Industry, produced 649 vehicles in the first half of this year, i.e. 4 units less than in the same period last year (i.e. -0.6%). Most of Tatra’s production was exported (449 units), 202 vehicles were placed in the Czech Republic.
In the first six months of the year, the manufacturer JAWA produced 371 motorcycles, i.e. 759 fewer than in the previous year (-67.2%). Of the total production, 171 motorcycles of this brand were placed on the Czech market (-76.6%), 200 machines were exported (-50%).
The trailer segment also recorded an overall year-on-year decline. Between January and June, 10,202 trailers and semi-trailers of all sizes were produced, i.e. 3,512 fewer than last year (-25.6%). In terms of volume, Agados, a company specialising in small trailers up to 3.5 t, accounted for the majority of production, producing 9,205 units (-26%), selling 5,060 units (-27%) in the Czech Republic and 3,681 units (-28.3%) abroad.
In the category of large trailers and semi-trailers there was also a partial decrease in production. Schwarzmüller produced 731 large trailers, 36.9% less than last year. In the Czech Republic, it sold 381 units (-7.1%), while abroad it sold 666 units (-36.5%). On the other hand, the Czech company PANAV did well, producing 266 trailers and semi-trailers, 118% more than in the previous year. It placed 220 trailers on the domestic market (+144.4%) and 22 trailers abroad (+46.7%).
