Slovakia’s car production has been stagnating since 2015
Slovakia’s car production has been stagnating just above 1m units since 2015. Last year, it rose slightly to an all-time high of 1,080,000 vehicles, estimates the local automotive union ZAP. VW made over 400,000 cars (just 362,000 in 2017), while production in Kia Motors fell by 0.8% and the output of the PSA plant stagnated, too. This year, car output is to grow, as Jaguar Land Rover launched production at its new plant in Nitra last October, and this year it plans to make 150,000 cars. The PSA plant is set to increase output, too.
The automotive sector accounts for 47% of Slovak industrial output and 35% of exports. ZAP called on the government to help the sector—to facilitate the arrival of foreign workers, invest into training workers, and invest into R&D.
