Slovakia beats record in car production, again

Automotive industry calls for action to keep the sector competitive.

(Source: Jaguar Land Rover Discovery)

More than 1.1 million vehicles rolled off the carmakers’ production lines in Slovakia in 2019, beating the country’s record by about 7,000 vehicles.

In the past few years, Slovakia has remained at the top of the world ranking in the number of cars produced per 1,000 inhabitants. In 2019, it kept its primacy by 202 vehicles. Next year, the Slovak Automotive Industry Association (ZAP) estimates 1.15 million vehicles will be produced in Slovakia.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Despite these positives, ZAP is calling on the Slovak government to take measures to ensure the country’s automotive industry remains competitive.

SkryťTurn off ads

“Absence of quality social dialogue when setting the minimum wage, direct as well as indirect costs of employers or adoption of other [costs-increasing] measures without compensation – all of this endangers the future of the automotive industry,” said ZAP president Alexander Matušek when introducing the preliminary results of the automotive sector for 2019 and plans for 2020 on January 10.

Related article Slovakia is not just a car assembly hall anymore Read more 

ZAP officials see basic obstacles to making further headway in the lack of qualified labour, rapid and unpredictable growth in salary costs, the non-existence of a system for transferring scientific knowledge into practice and a low level of development of alternative propulsion and the preparation of new forms of mobility.

Not all revealed the numbers

The automotive industry made up 49.5 percent of Slovakia’s total industrial production, while the export share was 46.6 percent last year. The automotive industry directly employs over 177,000 people, while generating 275,000 jobs both directly and indirectly, according to ZAP’s estimate.

SkryťTurn off ads

Out of four carmakers active in Slovakia, only two revealed their car production of the previous year. Both exceeded their so-far records.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Stock image.

Twice as many Ukrainians work in Slovakia now than before the Russian invasion.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad