Slovakia has been on the top of the list of countries in Central and Eastern Europe when it comes to the increases in car production since the beginning of the recession, reads an analysis recently issued by Coface. While in 2008 Slovakia manufactured over half a million passenger and utility vehicles, the figure rose to almost a million in 2014. A total of one-fifth of the entire car production in the European Union was produced in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. "The automotive sector drives the economies of countries in Central and Eastern Europe to a high extent. These countries were able to draw a significant volume of foreign direct investment, which resulted in a twofold increase in automobile production in the region over the past ten years," said Coface economist Grzegorz Sielewicz. The most successful in this respect were Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic, in which the production of cars rose almost threefold or even four times. In addition, Slovakia - along with the Czech Republic - ranks among the twenty top car manufacturers in the world. As the analysis indicates, the automotive industry has created jobs to 850,000 people in the six CEE countries and it has also contributed to economic growth of the countries. Sielewicz points out that car makers are strongly dependent on exports. As many as 85 percent of car exports from the region end up in EU member countries.
KIA Motors Slovakia, as the only one of the three car makers in Slovakia, recorded a year-on-year increase in revenues in 2014, according to an analysis issued by FinStat. KIA's revenues went up 3.14 percent on the year. Meanwhile, the biggest automobile producer in Slovakia - Volkswagen Slovakia - posted a drop in its revenues of 5.41 percent y-o-y, while Trnava-based PCA Slovakia recorded a reduction of 3.91 percent y-o-y. Nevertheless, despite the drops in revenues, Volkswagen and PCA were in the black in 2014.
