A slump in December could not prevent Czech passenger car production from rising 3.9% on-year in 2024 to 1.45 million vehicles, driven by 4.5% growth in exports, according to Czech Automotive Industry Association data seen by Kallanish. This was an all-time high.
Largest producer Skoda saw output rise 3.7% in 2024 to 896,933 units, while Toyota production surged 17% to 225,058 units. However, Hyundai saw production fall 2.8% to 330,890 vehicles.
The Czech Republic is Central and Eastern Europe’s largest car manufacturer, sourcing automotive steel from US Steel Kosice (USSK) and ArcelorMittal among other suppliers, and producing most cars for export.
Its 2024 performance flies in the face of the doom and gloom surrounding the European automotive industry last year. Passenger car production in largest EU carmaker Germany was stable on-year at 4.1m units (see separate story).
Passenger car production in neighbouring Poland however fared much worse, dropping 28% on-year in 2024 to only 216,200 vehicles, a multi-year low, according to Statistics Poland (GUS).
Polish truck production nevertheless grew 8% to 332,043 units, a multi-year high, while output of buses grew 39% to 7,103 units, the highest since 2019.
Adam Smith Poland
