Automotive

Success breeds success. As the historical cradle of mechanical engineering in Central Europe, the Czech Republic is now benefiting from its deep-rooted technical tradition and excellent engineering education. Apart from highly successful foreign OEM investments (e.g. Volkswagen, Toyota-Peugeot-Citroen, Iveco), the country hosts hundreds of automotive suppliers. The recently opened TPCA car plant (Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile) sources 75% of components locally. The benefits of being part of the Czech Republic's automotive industry, which features an extensive and robust value chain, was recently underscored by the European Investment Monitor of Ernst & Young, which ranked the Czech Republic as the world's leading location for automotive component plants for the last three consecutive years.

Passenger car production (per 100 residents)

^{Source: Automobile Industry 4/2006}

The Czech Republic is poised to consolidate its position as a leading European centre for automotive-related design and R&D activities. The country's greatest asset in this regard is its technical personnel, of which there is a steady supply from high-quality technical universities. Present and incoming automotive investors recognize the Czech Republic's outstanding background and are locating their R&D, construction and design centres in the country. The Czech Republic is currently the fourth most attractive automotive-related R&D location worldwide. This trend is further supported by a highly competitive investment-incentives programme.

Top 10 locations by number of incoming automotive-related R&D projects(1/2002 - 10/2004)

^{Source: OCO Consulting, FDI Magazine, 1/2005}

"The Czech Republic attracted us mainly by its remarkable engineering tradition and high level of technical education. This is what we were looking for. We are also very satisfied with the versatility of the local component manufacturers

• Jean-Martin Folz, President, PSA Peugeot Citroen

"We have had no problem finding designers with the skills required to do detailed design work for Mercedes Benz."

• Donald Fink, Director, Mercedes Benz Engineering

"What convinced us was the quality of Czech engineers and the long automotive tradition in the Czech Republic. For this reason we can promise further improvements in our results and achieve competitive prices."

• Clive Hickman, Managing Director, Ricardo Vehicle Engineering

"My experience with Czech engineers in automotive fields during my 25 years at GM and Chrysler R&D in the US and Canada has been more than excellent. They have a high level of technical education, comprehensive knowledge and understanding of complicated technical issues and excellent skills. Czech universities offer a pool of engineering and management talent for the global market."

• George Strnad, Design Engineers, General Motors Corporation

For more information, please visit automotive.czechinvest.org. If you are interested to find out more about opportunities to invest in the automotive industry in the Czech Republic, do not hesitate to contact us at fdi@czechinvest.org. You can also contact CzechInvest's foreign offices