The automotive business in Slovakia began to develop faster and faster after the Velvet Revolution that broke out in Czechoslovakia in 1989. The communist authorities left and it was then that the German Volkswagen started investing in the local Skoda. After the collapse of Czechoslovakia, other well-known brands began to take similar steps.
As reported by the BBC, almost one million cars are currently produced in Slovakia every year. Importantly, approximately 5.4 million people live in the country. This means that our southern neighbors produce the most cars per capita in the world.
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Slovakia has become an automotive giant. Here's what influenced it
The reason why car manufacturers started investing heavily in Slovakia is the lower labor costs here compared to other countries in the region. Automotive industry expert Peter Prokop, in an interview with the BBC, notes that after the collapse of Czechoslovakia they were 20 percent. what you had to pay in Germany, for example.
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Slovakia's advantage over other countries in this aspect is still high. — On the one hand, wages are still lower there. I would say they constitute 60 percent. Western wages. But there is also very high efficiency. This makes them very competitive, he explains. In addition, there are approximately 360 suppliers from the automotive industry in the country, which significantly facilitates the production process.
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One of the prides of the Slovak automotive industry is the huge Kia car factory near Žilina in the north of the country. 3.7 thousand people are employed there. people. Many years ago, the South Korean manufacturer was encouraged to invest in Slovakia by the local government, which proposed, among other things, tax breaks.
— There has been a huge drop in unemployment and a significant increase in economic strength in the Žilina region thanks to Kia, says city mayor Peter Fiabane. The total number of employees employed by this manufacturer in Slovakia is over 20,000. people. It finances special training programs for people who want to be employed in the factory later.
