Car production in the Czech Republic increased year-on-year, but the industry is plagued by a shortage of parts

Passenger car production in the Czech Republic rose 9.3 percent year-on-year to 1,118,639 vehicles in the first 11 months. In November alone, however, it fell by 4.6 percent to 118,264 vehicles.

The decline in the latest month was mainly due to persistent shortages of some parts and tight logistics chains. The Automotive Industry Association announced this in a press release on Thursday.

From January to the end of November, 124,202 electric vehicles were produced, accounting for more than 11.1 percent of domestic car production, a 0.1 percentage point increase over the previous year.

“This year, we will undoubtedly surpass the production volumes of the 2020 and 2021 COVID years. Given the existing volume of vehicle orders, we can expect the automotive industry to continue positively affecting the Czech economy in 2023. However, the situation in supply chains remains very tight. That is why we very much welcome the government’s decision to cap energy prices for large companies as well,” said Zdeněk Petzl, Executive Director of the association.

In the first 11 months, the largest domestic carmaker, Škoda Auto, produced 636,054 passenger cars in its domestic plants, a 0.9 percent increase yearly. Of these, over 65,000 were hybrids and electric cars.

Hyundai’s Nosovice plant increased production by 15.5 percent to 296,900 cars. Electric cars accounted for more than 19.9 percent of total production. Cologne-based Toyota increased production by 36.1 percent to 185,685 vehicles. Hybrid vehicles accounted for almost 40 percent of production.

In the first 11 months, 4,859 buses were produced in the Czech Republic, up 12.9 percent year-on-year. Iveco CR in Vysoké Mýto produced 4,369 buses, 13.4 percent more than in the same period last year. SOR Libchavy produced 455 buses.

Motorcycle production at Jawa Moto increased by 60 percent to 1,557 machines.