Artificial intelligence was more like science fiction at the time, and as a lawyer, I wasn\u2019t really that interested in the fact that there were semiconductors in cars. I joined Hyundai two years before production began, and we were focused on completely different things. The main thing was to solve all the problems with the construction of the plant and start operations. It was an extremely complex process, an incredible amount of work, and there was no time to think about what would happen after the start of production.<\/p>\n
A lot of work, but at a good time: the European automotive industry was still at its peak at the time\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t the case at all. We had to hurry a lot because the financial crisis was on the horizon. It broke out in 2008, just as we had completed construction. And since then, we have experienced several more of those crises.<\/p>\n The Covid pandemic was probably the most difficult period for European automakers. Do you agree?<\/strong><\/p>\n As a representative of Hyundai, it is difficult for me to assess this. On the one hand, we produce in No\u0161ovice and are part of the European industry, but at the same time we are part of a global concern of Korean origin, so not all the problems that affect the European automotive industry necessarily affect us. This was evident, for example, during the semiconductor crisis that the pandemic triggered after 2020. Thanks to the Asian origin of the parent company and the large spread of the concern, we did much better than others.<\/p>\n If you look at the European automotive industry as a whole, do you think the Covid pandemic was the turning point when the center of gravity of automotive production began to shift from Europe to Asia? Or are the causes elsewhere?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was certainly an intervention from which the European industry had a long and difficult time recovering. But I don’t know if it was a turning point.<\/p>\n China began to develop faster. Companies have secure resources. And of course, a significant factor is enormous state support. The moment China decided to develop the automotive industry, especially electromobility, massive support began to flow into that area, completely strategically from securing raw materials to supporting specific manufacturers.<\/p>\n Do European manufacturers have an advantage in any way?<\/strong><\/p>\n Local automakers have closer contact with customers and understand their needs, so cars made in Europe still better meet the requirements of European customers, for example in the setting of various assistance systems, but not only that. On the other hand, we know that this will also improve with Chinese cars, so we can’t take much comfort from that.<\/p>\n How often does the word “China” come up in your strategic meetings?<\/strong><\/p>\n Maybe not as often as it might seem. We mainly deal with factors that affect our production, which are mainly raw material prices and energy prices, and today, of course, logistics.<\/p>\n I assume that logistics is very much related to geopolitics, because you import a number of components from Asia.<\/strong><\/p>\n That’s right, most of the parts for production come from European suppliers, but we also use supplies from Asia. Conflicts in the Middle East affect sea routes, and if a ship that was supposed to pass through the Suez Canal has to go around Africa, not only is it more expensive, but especially there are delays, which we have to take into account when planning production.<\/p>\n Do you also use air transport of parts in some critical cases?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, but we try to minimize it. We anticipate that there may be problems with the parts we import from Asia in the long term, and we maintain a certain safety stock.<\/p>\n Did the war in Ukraine affect you in any way?<\/strong><\/p>\n We were exporting Tucsons to Russia and transmissions to our then-plant in St. Petersburg. But that stopped before the conflict broke out. So it didn\u2019t affect us in any way.<\/p>\n Although the conflicts in the world did not significantly affect you, last year was quite difficult for the No\u0161ovice plant. The carmaker’s net profit fell by 6.42 billion to 4.32 billion crowns. Revenues decreased by 28.08 billion, or 15 percent, year-on-year, to 159.71 billion crowns. What was the cause? Is it related to the decline in sales?<\/strong><\/p>\n Last year, we produced 276,175 cars, which was roughly 55 thousand fewer than in 2024. Revenues are plus or minus directly proportional to the number of cars produced, but the difference is greater for profits. Fixed costs remain the same, but higher material costs and growing competition have taken their toll. The European market is growing only slightly and there are more competitors on it.<\/p>\n As for sales, it always depends on your model mix and how old your models are. No\u0161ovice is now in the waiting stage for new models. When they arrive, the trajectory will reverse. Last year’s figures do not mean the beginning of a negative trend.<\/p>\n So let’s get to the models.<\/strong><\/p>\n Our long-term best-selling model on the European market is the Tucson. Last year, it became the best-selling compact SUV in the European private sector. In August last year, it achieved historic success when it climbed to 6th place in the European ranking of all cars sold, regardless of class.<\/p>\n The Kona model is also doing well, this year even better than we expected. The Kona is a key model thanks to which Hyundai has seen a sharp increase in sales of pure electric cars in Europe.<\/p>\n The third model we are currently producing is the Hyundai i30, a classic lower-middle-class model.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of course, I am mainly interested in the new models that you are planning. It is no secret that the fifth generation of the Tucson will be introduced this autumn. Can you tell me more about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n It will be a beautiful car, even better than the current one in every way. We will start production this year.<\/p>\n The European premiere of the new Tucson will be in October at the Paris Motor Show.<\/p>\n When will the new Kona be? What will be the successor to the i30?<\/strong><\/p>\n I cannot comment on that specifically. I can only say that one new model is already being prepared, and we have another one planned. They will be mostly electric.<\/p>\n How will this year turn out and what will the next one be like? What will the next period of challenges bring?<\/strong><\/p>\n We do not expect to achieve any miraculous results from this year \u2013 as I said, we are about to launch new models.<\/p>\n For next year, I expect all the negative influences that we have already mentioned to be reinforced, especially growing competition.<\/p>\n “The new Tucson will be a beautiful car, even better than the current one in every way. We will start production this year,” Petr Michn\u00edk says in an interview for \u010cesk\u00fd Autopr\u016fmysl. | Photo: Vladim\u00edr Pry\u010dek<\/p><\/div>\n Can you tell us what the production mix will be in terms of drives in the coming years?<\/strong><\/p>\n Next year it will remain approximately the same as today, that is, around fifty percent electrified cars, fifty with combustion engines.<\/p>\n However, this may change a little, because at the turn of the year the Hyundai production plant in Saudi Arabia is opening. It should serve the Middle East, where we still export cars from No\u0161ovice. This represents about five percent of production.<\/p>\n This will mean even greater orientation towards the European market for us, although there will still be outlets for conventional drives, for example in Latin American and North African countries.<\/p>\n Increasing our share of the European market will certainly be challenging.<\/strong><\/p>\n Without a doubt.<\/p>\n You asked how often we talk about China in meetings. Management meetings are much more often about how to make the most of the capacity of the plants. This is not being addressed directly here, but at the European or global level. It is being decided which model will be produced where.<\/p>\n Hyundai cars will not only flow to the European market from No\u0161ovice, but many cars made in Turkey or directly in Korea are also imported. Given the global and European pressures to support regional industry, there is certainly room for our share of the group’s production to increase.<\/p>\n On the other hand, I would warn against any great optimism that the European Made in EU initiative (in the automotive sector, it is intended to prevent cheap imports of mainly Chinese cars; according to the proposal, for a “European car” it should apply that 70% of the value of components, excluding batteries, must come from Europe and at least 50% of critical components will be demonstrably of European origin, editor’s note) would help in any significant way.<\/p>\n I think it makes much more sense for Europe to cooperate in production with countries with which it has free trade agreements and the like. This can bring about cheaper prices and therefore have a positive effect for the customer.<\/p>\n As a global manufacturer with its headquarters in South Korea, strict localization rules can significantly affect you. As you said, you import a number of models from Asian plants. The form of the Made in EU regulation is currently being discussed and it is not clear how it will turn out. But this is probably the most important agenda for you to focus on at the moment.<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, along with legislation regarding CO2 regulations \u2013 there is still no final agreement on the transition to the production of vehicles with zero or nearly zero emissions (it should now be enough to achieve a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions for the fleet \u2013 editor\u2019s note) from 2035. These are fundamental problems that complicate our preparation of plans and decisions on which models to produce here in Europe.<\/p>\n You said that at the global management level there is a discussion about the effective use of the group\u2019s capacities around the world. Can we say that there is some competition within the group? That individual plants can \u201cfight\u201d with each other for the next model?<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course. American plants produce for the American market, European plants for the European market, but then there are models that can be produced in multiple countries. I wouldn’t say directly that the competition is getting tougher, but rather that the discussions about where to classify which model are becoming increasingly complex. The reason for this is the great uncertainty related to EU regulations. The resulting form of Made in EU will have a great influence on deciding where it is worthwhile to produce which model. Whether it is better to make it in Korea and import it, or to produce it more expensively using European suppliers in the EU.<\/p>\n Every plant would certainly like to get some new attractive model for itself, but according to what you say, you can’t influence that in any way. Your global management will decide according to how the legislation develops. To simplify things a lot: If Made in EU were to be scrapped, would you be producing large family SUVs in No\u0161ovice, and if it were to come into effect, would the capacity for producing electric models be increased and would mainly small city electric cars be made here?<\/strong><\/p>\n That is a really big simplification.<\/p>\n Hyundai Motor Company operates a total of 12 major wholly owned manufacturing plants in eight countries around the world. The No\u0161ovice plant is Hyundai\u2019s only plant in the European Union. What is the position of No\u0161ovice in the group, how does it compare to other automotive plants of the group in the world?<\/strong><\/p>\n Our importance is mainly related to what you said: that we are the only plant in the EU. There is another plant in Europe in Turkey, but that is no longer in the Union. All Hyundai plants in the world are modern plants. However, I dare say that compared to the others, ours is at the top in terms of production efficiency and production quality.<\/p>\n Is there anything special about your plant? Does it have something that the others do not have?<\/strong><\/p>\n I can\u2019t think of anything really special \u2013 except perhaps the very capable Czech employees. I consider that to be a really important thing. In the twenty years that we have been operating here, we have built up a great reputation. Proof of this is that when a new plant was starting up in America last year, they asked specialists from our paint shop to help them set up the processes. This is despite the fact that Hyundai Kia has two other plants in America.<\/p>\n Petr Michn\u00edk considers the No\u0161ovice plant’s main asset to be its highly capable employees. | Photo: Vladim\u00edr Pry\u010dek<\/p><\/div>\n In the automotive industry, not only products, i.e. vehicles, have changed in recent years, but also the way of production, production processes, and methods have changed dramatically. Automation and robotization are displacing human workers, and Hyundai is far behind in deploying robots. Hyundai employees in Korea went on strike in July this year against the deployment of robots in production. Specifically, it concerns Atlas robots, which should be deployed on assembly lines. Tell me more about that.<\/strong><\/p>\n I don’t really understand Korean realities. But the truth is that Hyundai bought a majority stake in Boston Dynamics, a leading company in the development of humanoid robots. Boston Dynamics’ main task is to prepare the humanoid robot Atlas so that it is capable of working in Hyundai factories. But that doesn’t mean that employees should be afraid that an army of “Atlases” will arrive and deprive them of their jobs day by day.<\/p>\n Maybe not day by day, but if robots don’t replace people, what would be the point of deploying them?<\/strong><\/p>\n Big. It’s not about money, after all. We solve work safety, ergonomics, quality with automation and robotization. We replace hard or complex work, we increase the quality of products and, of course, we calculate what the return will be.<\/p>\n In No\u0161ovice, we have more than doubled the number of robots in twenty years, now we have 566. We have gradually replaced more than 200 operators, but none of them have been laid off, we have always solved this by transferring them to other positions.<\/p>\n How has the number of employees in the No\u0161ovice plant developed overall?<\/strong><\/p>\n At its peak, we had over three and a half thousand, but that was when we were still operating a gearbox factory. Today we have approximately 2,800 employees, 94 percent of whom are Czech. The average age of employees is 40 years and the average length of employment is 11 years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you have an idea when the Atlas humanoid robots should be deployed in No\u0161ovice?<\/strong><\/p>\n Deployment will begin in America in 2028. We are talking about it with Boston Dynamic and our headquarters, and I would like the testing and operation of humanoid robots to begin here as soon as possible. It is something that can move us forward.<\/p>\n The advent of humanoid robots is simply the next step in the automation of production. And I personally think that their introduction will be easier and faster than the advent of autonomous vehicles. And I am not afraid of that.<\/p>\n It is probably impossible to talk about robotization and artificial intelligence separately. But I will still ask: where do you think AI will find the greatest application in the car industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, physical AI is very important, which will improve the work of robots. In my opinion, this is an absolutely essential thing that will actually help remove the barrier between the capabilities of a robot and the capabilities of a human. On the one hand, it will give robots certain human abilities, on the other hand, it will be able to apply all its advantages, such as absolute precision, the ability to work without breaks, etc.<\/p>\n AI will of course enable better work with data and help in many supporting processes, but it is certainly not the only factor that can improve our work. There are a whole range of IT tools, and artificial intelligence is just one of them.<\/p>\n In any case, AI is already helping today and it is clear that it will be used more and more.<\/p>\n The greatest value of today’s car is no longer in the engine and not even in the sheet metal, but in the software. That’s why we’re talking about software-defined vehicles, SDVs, and that’s why some carmakers have started to cooperate with software companies. Do you think such cooperation will become more common, or will car manufacturers set up their own software divisions?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think that strong carmakers will try to bring everything that is strategic under their control. And it’s not just about software; for us, the Hyundai carmaker, it’s also a big advantage that we have our own steel mills in Korea.<\/p>\n When it comes to software, there’s another level. It’s important for the carmaker to have as much control over the software as possible, also from a cybersecurity perspective.<\/p>\n Does Hyundai also have its own software company in its group?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Hyundai Motor Group is building its own software division; we have the 42dot global software center, which develops the central vehicle operating system and architecture for software-defined vehicles. Another subsidiary builds its own standardized software platforms for control units.<\/p>\n But we still use some external suppliers.<\/p>\n As far as I know, Hyundai’s software divisions also design chips for their own use, but you outsource the production to renowned manufacturers like Samsung. The fact that the manufacturers are Korean, like your parent company, is certainly an advantage. In the end, this also showed during the “chip crisis”.<\/strong><\/p>\n I think the main reason why we got through the chip crisis so well was the flexibility with which we were able to work, which of course also applies to relationships with chip suppliers.<\/p>\n But of course it is logical that there are closer relationships between a company with Korean origin and Korean chip manufacturers.<\/p>\n Do you think there is a chance that the EU will be able to build up sufficient own capacities to produce chips, batteries and other important components for electromobility in a reasonable time?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think not – and this is precisely the pitfall of the already mentioned Made in EU initiative.<\/p>\n How big an advantage is it for you that the final traction batteries for Kona electric cars, as well as for plug-in hybrids and Tucson hybrids, have been assembled directly in No\u0161ovice for several years at Hyundai’s sister company MOBIS Czech?<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, this is a big logistical advantage, because the battery is a large, heavy part. However, the strategic part is the individual cells. We now import them from a Korean supplier in Poland.<\/p>\n Twenty years at Hyundai certainly meant gaining a lot of experience, and perhaps even some surprises. What was the biggest surprise for you during your career at Hyundai?<\/strong><\/p>\n The fact that even after twenty years, I still enjoy this job. There is always something new here, although, admittedly, lately the news has been more in the form of challenges.<\/p>\n How is today’s car factory in No\u0161ovice different from the one at the beginning, what is the biggest difference?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think the biggest change is the pressure we have been experiencing from the EU in recent years, which was not the case before.<\/p>\n The No\u0161ovice company is still headed by a Korean boss and there are also several Korean managers in the management. What have you learned from them over the past twenty years?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don’t really like this question. I think it’s not so much about nationality as it is about specific people. Moreover, we are a global company.<\/p>\n But I can definitely mention one thing. The Koreans say: Don’t say it can’t be done until you try it. This principle surprised me a bit at first. There were things that we had categorized as not working and there was no point in trying them. But it turned out that it was worth it. I think this is one of the features of Korean management culture: Not giving up until you have tried all the ways.<\/p>\n Where do you see hope today that things will not go badly for the European car industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n My hope is that there have been many different crises and we have always managed to overcome them.<\/p>\n If I were to speak purely for our company, we have a great advantage in global operations. We stand on several solid legs, we have a very strong position not only in Korea, but also in America and other areas. So if things are not going well in Europe, we can compensate for it in other regions. We are able to support each other and overcome difficult periods.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If Ursula von der Leyen were a goldfish who could grant you one wish regarding European legislation, what task would you give her?<\/strong><\/p>\n The President of the European Commission knows exactly what to do, she has set herself the tasks. She wants to improve the competitiveness of the European Union, so let her do it. We need less bureaucracy, lower energy prices, and above all, clear rules that will not complicate the situation even more. And we need all of that quickly. That’s about it.<\/p>\n But I would like to add something else. The complaints about the EU and the demands of the car industry regarding legislation are 100% justified, and we must strive for change in the sense that everything works better and easier. But then there is a point where we have to take care of our own prosperity. I think we all have some reserves and we cannot blame everything on the EU alone. The Union creates some conditions, although not perfect, but there is still plenty of room for improving our work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nChinese manufacturers benefit from state support<\/strong><\/h3>\n
New models against the competition<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n“The European premiere of the new Tucson will be at the Paris Motor Show this October.”<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autosap.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pry-5700-scaled.jpg\")
Made in EU is not a good way<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Something special? Capable employees<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autosap.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/pry-6086-kopie-scaled.jpg\")
Humanoid robots in 2028<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n“The deployment of humanoid robots will be easier and faster than the advent of autonomous vehicles.”<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\nI prefer software from my own workshop<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Goldfish challenge<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n“We need less bureaucracy, lower energy prices, and most importantly, clear rules that won’t complicate things even more. And we need all of that quickly.”<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
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\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autosap.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/petr-michnik-profil.png\")
Petr Michn\u00edk <\/em><\/b>joined the Hyundai car factory (HMMC) in No\u0161ovice in 2006, in the legal department as a senior specialist. He is the oldest employee of this company, having joined it two years before the plant even began mass production of cars. Four years later, he became head of the legal department, and in 2020, his responsibilities were expanded to include management of the external relations department. A year later, he was appointed head of the administrative subdivision. In January 2025, he was promoted to the position of head of the entire administrative division, becoming only the second Czech to hold such a high divisional management level at HMMC. Petr Michn\u00edk is also a member of the board of directors of the Automotive Industry Association.<\/em>
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