Road vehicle production adds 9.4% in 2010

Prague, Jan 20 (CTK) - Total production of road vehicles rose by 9.4 percent to 1.095 million units in the Czech Republic last year, with passenger car output at 1.072 million units, a growth of 9.5 percent, the Automotive Industry Association (SAP) said on its website.

Domestic sales of road vehicles added 4.4 percent and exports posted a rise of 11.2 percent, SAP said.

Skoda Auto remained the largest producer of passenger cars, its output up by 9 percent to 576,362 units.

TPCA came next, with output falling by 11 percent to 295,712 units.

Hyundai raised output by 70 percent to 200,135 units.

Czech car manufacturers saw their sales on the domestic market increase by 6 percent to 64,450 vehicles. Exports were 11.2 percent higher at 1.19 million units.

Production of lorries was 29.3 percent higher at 1,411 vehicles. Tatra produced 931 lorries, 15 percent more on the year, and Avia reported a 70-percent increase in its output to 480 units.

Domestic sales sank 50 percent, while exports of lorries soared nearly 57 percent.

Tow vehicle production grew by 1.5 percent to 772 units.

Bus production went down by 11.6 percent to 2,711 units. Irisbus, the market leader, saw its output drop by 14 percent to 2,177 vehicles, its rival SOR produced 478 buses, a rise of 12 percent. Tedom and KH Motor Centrum reported a 50-percent decrease in their output to 32 and 24 buses, respectively.

Motorcycle production declined by more than 20 percent to 583 units, with Jawa the only Czech brand in the market.