17/4/2023 |Articles are machine translated
Production of the Škoda Enyaq Coupe iV at ŠKODA AUTO Mladá Boleslav. | Photo: ŠKODA AUTO
In the Czech Republic, 353,770 passenger vehicles were produced in the first quarter, 31.5% (i.e. 84,680 vehicles) more than in the same period of the previous year. The production results in the passenger vehicle segment thus approached the pre-crisis levels of 2019. The production of trucks also prospered, recording a 19.5% increase in the first three months to a total of 361 vehicles produced. On the other hand, a decline in production volumes was recorded by manufacturers of other segments – buses -11.6% (1,101 units), motorcycles -73% (183 units), small trailers up to 3.5t -18.8% (4,038 units) and large trailers over 3.5t -17.3% (569 units). Production in the electric vehicle segment increased significantly and accounted for over 11.6% of total motor vehicle production. For the first quarter of 2023, a total of 29,928 pure electric and 11,393 plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles were produced.
“It is great news not only for the automotive industry, but also for the economy as a whole that despite persistent production shortages caused by component shortages, passenger car manufacturers managed to approach pre-crisis production levels in the first quarter of 2019. Although the supply chain situation is still not simple and the production capacity of individual components will need to be rebalanced with ongoing vehicle demand, I see a gradual return to equilibrium. This makes it all the more important to avoid counterproductive regulatory interventions in the market, which are threatened, for example, if the Euro 7 standard is adopted in its current form,” says Martin Jahn, President of the Automotive Industry Association.
In the first three months of this year, 353,770 passenger vehicles were produced in the Czech Republic, i.e. 31.5% more than in the first quarter of the previous year. Electric vehicles produced in the period totalled 41,321 units and their share in domestic car production rose to 11.68%. A total of 29,928 battery BEVs and 11,393 plug-in hybrid PHEVs were produced. A total of 24,950 vehicles were delivered to the domestic market, 10.2% more than in the previous year. Almost 93% of the vehicles produced (328 820 units) were destined for foreign markets, which means that vehicle exports increased by 33.4% year-on-year.
ŠKODA AUTO, the country’s largest carmaker, produced 231,652 passenger cars (+42.4%) at its domestic plants in January-March. 20,183 vehicles (+8.8%) were placed on the Czech market, while 211,469 vehicles (+46.8%) were destined for foreign markets. ŠKODA AUTO produced 22,258 electric vehicles (battery BEVs and plug-in hybrid PHEVs), i.e. 9.6% of the brand’s total production. Of these, 18,636 were battery BEVs
and 3,622 plug-in hybrids.
Hyundai’s Nosovice plant also performed well in the year-on-year comparison. It produced a total of 88,300 vehicles in the first quarter, 18.8% more than in the same period last year. A total of 84,595 vehicles were exported (+19.6%) and 3,705 were sold on the domestic market (+3.8%). Of the total number of vehicles produced, 11,292 were pure electric and 7,771 were plug-in hybrid. Overall, electric vehicles accounted for 21.6% of total production.
After a nearly month-long production shutdown in February, Cologne-based Toyota produced a total of 33,818 passenger vehicles in the first three months of the year, up 5.2% year-on-year. A total of 32,756 vehicles were exported (+3.6%) and 1,062 (+105.8%) were registered domestically.
In the first quarter, 1,101 buses were produced in the Czech Republic (-11.6%), 57 buses were destined for the domestic market (-63.7%), and the remaining 1,099 were exported (+8.7%). 1,025 buses were produced in IVECO CR in Vysoké Mýto, i.e. 9.7% less than last year, 1,033 were destined abroad (+6.5%) and 47 buses (-53.9%) were sold domestically. In the first quarter of this year, SOR Libchavy produced 71 buses, i.e. 22.8% less than last year, of which 10 units (-81.8%) were destined for the domestic market and 61 units (+64.9%) of this brand of buses went abroad. The manufacturer KHMC produced 5 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 361 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, 59 more than in the same period last year (i.e. +19.5%). Tatra’s production was mostly exported (284 units), 90 vehicles were placed in the Czech Republic.
JAWA produced 183 motorcycles in the first three months of the year, 495 fewer than in the previous year (-73%). 88 motorcycles of this brand were placed on the Czech market (-82.3%), 95 machines were exported (-47.8%).
The trailer segment also recorded an overall year-on-year decline. Between January and March, 4 607 trailers and semi-trailers of all sizes were produced, i.e. 1 051 fewer than last year (-18.6%). In terms of volume, Agados, specialising in small trailers up to 3.5 t, accounted for the majority of production. It produced 4,038 units (-18.8%), sold 2,036 units in the Czech Republic (-22.4%) and 1,625 units abroad (-17.8%).
In the category of large trailers and semi-trailers there was also a partial decrease in production. Schwarzmüller produced 434 large trailers, 24.8% less than last year. In the Czech Republic, it sold 220 units (+20.9%), while 337 units (-35.3%) were sold abroad. On the other hand, the Czech company PANAV did well, producing 135 trailers and semi-trailers, 21.6% more than in the previous year. The company placed 89 trailers on the domestic market (+15.6%) and 9 trailers abroad (-59.1%).
