The Automotive Industry in the Moravian-Silesian Region and Its Future
44 POSITIV 3/2021
The automotive industry in the Czech Republic makes
up roughly a tenth of the national GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) and employs more than 180,000 people. It plays
an even more important role in innovation, accounting for
36% of all industrial investment in science and research. In
the Moravian-Silesian Region, there are more than forty
companies active in the automotive and other related
industries, employing 25,000 people. The long tradition of car
production in the Moravian-Silesian Region is demonstrated
by the TATRA TRUCKS a.s. car factory, which is the second-
oldest continuously producing car factory in the world.
However, a turning point in the modern history of the
region was the appearance of the Hyundai car company
in 2006, which meant a fundamental strengthening of
this sector, the coming of many supplier companies
and an improvement in an unfavourable situation on
the labour market in those times. Last year, affected by
the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 240,000 cars were
produced in Nošovice, accounting for roughly one-fifth
of all automobiles produced in the Czech Republic. By
comparison, the Hyundai carmaker regularly produced
more than 300,000 cars a year in previous years and
celebrated a major milestone in 2019—its three millionth
car produced. Another milestone that shifts the Nošovice
carmaker into the ‘electric age’ is the launch of the Kona
Electric in March last year, which was the first electromobile
produced in the Czech Republic.
Marek Burian
Background photo created by