The automotive sector performed strongly in CEE last year

CEE Macro and FI Daily , 22. Jan
The automotive sector performed strongly in CEE last year

In the EU, new car registrations rose slightly in 2024 by 0.8% to around 10.6 million units. In the region, the average growth of car registrations reached 9.5% for CEE7 (excluding Serbia). The most dynamic growth of registered cars was in Poland (16.1%), while in Czechia and Romania growth was the weakest at 4.6% and 5.6% respectively. The region thus clearly outperformed the whole EU, where declines observed in France (-3.2%) and Germany (-1%) weighed on the overall EU performance. Further, we will zoom in on Czechia and Slovakia regarding the 2024 car production. While in Czechia, car production increased by 3.9% year-on-year to the record high of 1.4 million vehicles, in Slovakia it decreased by approximately 7% in 2024, reaching 993,000 units, a level comparable to the most challenging pandemic years of 2020 and 2022. According to the President of the Czech Automotive Industry Association, Martin Jahn, these numbers are clear evidence that the Czech automobile industry remains a key pillar of the domestic and European economy. In Slovakia, the decline is associated with the preparations for the production of new models. While almost all car manufacturers experienced a successful year, the decline in production was primarily due to Stellantis, which produced only around 150,000 vehicles50-60% lower than in previous years. Production at Stellantis is expected to ramp up this year, and Slovakia could produce a record number of cars, up to 1.2 million units. Additionally, Volvo, which is currently under construction, will also soon contribute to this growth. The number of vehicles could increase to 1.5 million units.