According to data released by the Slovak Automobile Industry Association (ZAP), Slovak carmakers produced some 985,000 vehicles last year, which was 11 percent down from the record year of 2019. ZAP president Alexander Matušek ascribed the decrease to the extraordinary situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and he views the number of cars produced as "an excellent result" given the circumstances." In early autumn we forecast a drop of over 20 percent. The result achieved by the automotive industry in 2020 means that the original catastrophic scenarios of a double-digit fall in Slovakia's economy didn't come true," said Matušek. He praised legislative measures aimed at minimising the impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic. "These tools helped us to react promptly to the market situation and successfully relaunch production after a shutdown practically all over Europe.
Cars and car components make up 50 percent of Slovakia's exports. Therefore, the Association views it as important that output return to above 1 million cars this year. It expects the market to revive in 2021 and sales in Slovakia to result in some 95,000 new vehicle registrations. The Slovak new car market failed to offset a shortfall of 25 percent year-on-year brought about by government measures and the closure of outlets. "This result is similar to the level seen in 2014," said ZAP vice-president Pavol Prepiak. Among the negatives of 2020 he mentioned the failure to change the system of registration fees and an increase in the number of individually imported used cars, as well as their average age. "As many as 36 percent of all imported used cars were more than ten years old," he said.
