Overview

	2019	2020	2021	2022 (Estimated)
Total Market Size	9,177,291	5,685,795	9,612,383	10,000,000
Total Local Production	22,125,326	21,000,000	26,332,875	27,000,000
Total Exports	28,916,141	29,965,928	32,829,626	33,000,000
Total Imports	15,968,106	14,651,723	16,109,134	16,000,000
Imports from the U.S	13,841	14,120	17,862	18,000
Exchange Rate: 1 USD	1.14	1.13	1.18	1.195

USD thousands (total market size = (total local production + imports) - exports)

Data Sources:

Total Local Production: Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

Total Exports: Global Trade Atlas

Total Imports: Global Trade Atlas

Imports from U.S.: Global Trade Atlas

Exchange Rate: European Central Bank

Leading Sub-Sectors

The following specific items were the leading exports from the U.S. to Slovakia covered by this Leading Sector, ranked by USD from 2020 to 2021:

HS code	ITEM	2019	2020
8708	Parts And Accessories For Tractors, Public-Transport Passenger Vehicles, Motor Cars, Goods Transport Motor Vehicles And Special Purpose Motor Vehicles	6,688,465	7,422,456
8701	Tractors (Other Than Works Trucks Of Heading 8709)	4,101,585	6,190,971
8703	Motor Cars And Other Motor Vehicles Designed To Transport People (Other Than Public-Transport Type), Including Station Wagons And Racing Cars	6,913,527	3,300,130
8716	Trailers And Semi-Trailers; Other Vehicles, Not Mechanically Propelled; And Parts Thereof	11,609	293,134
8705	Special Purpose Motor Vehicles, Nesoi, Including Wreckers, Mobile Cranes, Fire Fighting Vehicles, Concrete Mixers, Mobile Workshops, Etc.	243,411	250,127
8713	Carriages For Disabled Persons, Whether Or Not Motorized Or Otherwise Mechanically Propelled	184,160	201,771
8711	Motorcycles (Including Mopeds) And Cycles Fitted With An Auxiliary Motor, With Or Without Sidecars; Sidecars	178,776	131,393
8714	Parts And Accessories For Motorcycles, Bicycles And Other Cycles, Including Parts And Accessories For Delivery Tricycles And Invalid Carriages	27,035	67,450
8712	Bicycles And Other Cycles (Including Delivery Tricycles), Not Motorized		5,250
8707	Bodies (Including Cabs), For Tractors, Public-Transport Passenger Vehicles, Motor Cars, Goods Transport Vehicles And Special Purpose Motor Vehicles	5,709
8709	Works Trucks, Self-Propelled, Not Fitted With Lifting Or Handling Equipment; Tractors Used On Railway Station Platforms; Parts Thereof	25,303

Opportunities

In 2021 VW Slovakia, Stellantis, JLR, and Kia Slovakia produced 4 percent more vehicles than in 2020, when the car production dropped by 11 percent. In 2022 production capacity is not expected to grow more than 4 percent due to the crisis in Ukraine — which has interrupted the supply chain some for components, terminated car exports to Russia, and limited cars exports to Germany ascribed to Germans choosing alternative means of transport due to increased fuel prices.

With 184 cars per 1,000 inhabitants Slovakia remains an automotive powerhouse. In 2021 automotive production comprised 12 percent of Slovakia’s GDP, 47.7 percent of Slovakia’s industrial production and 42.9 percent of country’s industrial exports. Car manufacturers exported primarily to EU markets (mainly Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands), Great Britain, the United States, and China.  Export markets further afield include Taiwan, Korea, Russia, the Near East, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Uruguay.

In total, about 350 Tier 1 and Tier 2 auto suppliers in Slovakia provide parts and subassemblies to clients throughout Europe and beyond. In 2021 direct employment in the automotive industry declined by 10,000 to 164,000 people, while the aggregated employment dropped by 25,000 to 245,000 people. The Slovak automotive sector still requires up to 14,000 new skilled workers (7,000 by OEMs and 7,000 by suppliers), of which 2,000 should be university graduates. The greatest labor demand is for production operators, blue collar workers, warehousemen and assembly line workers.

Automobile Parts and Aftermarket Products

Slovakia enjoys a favorable geographic location for automobile production and sales: it is near 12 automobile manufacturing plants and has 300 million clients within a radius of 1,000 km as well as 600 million clients within the radius of 2,000 km. Slovakia is an EU member, and thus the market for automobile parts and equipment is largely saturated by products from countries such as Germany, Austria, and France. Competitive pricing and just-in-time delivery are essential for U.S. suppliers to be successful in selling to the four OEM automobile manufacturers in Slovakia and to their Tier 1 suppliers.

R&D

In Slovakia there is potential to provide R&D services to large automobile corporations in specific segments. A special tax regime that permits an additional deduction of 200 percent of R&D costs is the highest rate in the region. The development of applied R&D in the automotive production field is critical for continued sectorial growth, with target opportunities including smart production (intelligent manufacturing with digitalization, sensors, internet of things and automation), innovative materials (composite, organic, memory), components, complex solutions, adjacent processing, 3D printed equipment and recycling of waste. Current examples of companies in the R&D space include Adient, Porsche, Matador Holding, Schaeffler, Hella or InoBat.

Electric cars

Of the four car manufacturers in Slovakia, only Volkswagen and Stellantis produce electric vehicles.

Out of the 3.4 million cars on Slovak roads, only 3 percent are electric or hybrids.

New electric car registrations

Year	2019	2020	2021
Electric Cars	390	1,813	2,270
All Cars	113,863	84,909	87,349

Source: Slovak Automotive Association, Eurostat

Low interest in green cars is due to their relatively high price, insufficient financial stimuli by the state, and a limited charging station network, longer charging times, limited range, sale-service network size, and electricity prices. In March 2019, the Slovak government adopted a 15-measure action plan to support the development of Slovak electro mobility. Electro mobility activities are expected to be supported in amount of USD 60 million (EUR 51 million) from the total USD 753 million (EUR 638 million) allocated within the decarbonization portion of the Green Energy chapter in Slovakia’s EU Recovery Plan. The Slovak Association for Electromobility projects an additional 36,000 registrations of electric cars by 2025 and 105,000 by 2030. To meet the targets set out in its EU Recover Plan, Slovakia needs to increase electric and alternative vehicle registrations to 55,000 by 2025.

Hydrogen

The Slovak Ministry of Economy has actively promoted hydrogen as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and increase the competitiveness of the Slovak economy.

The National Hydrogen Strategy, which defines the strategic role of the state in the use of hydrogen technologies, calls for the development of a “Prepared for the Future” action plan. It defines specific tasks for State administrative bodies, proposes a legislative framework and financial conditions for the implementation of hydrogen technologies to support decarbonization of the economy and specifically the energy, industrial processes, transport, and mobility sectors.

Hydrogen vehicles are largely absent in Slovakia with only one hydrogen car (a single Toyota Mirai owned and operated by a state entity) and one prototype bus operating.  Hydrogen cars will likely receive State subsidies in the future, similar to subsidies for plug-in hybrids and electric cars. The prototype of a hydrogen bus by the company Rosero P, designed in cooperation with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Technical University of Kosice, was introduced in August 2021. Rosero P is a Slovak producer of midi bus and microbus with up to 36 seats using, built on Iveco Daily and Mercedes Benz Vario chassis.

As of February 2022, Slovakia has one permanent hydrogen filling station with a filling pressure of 200 bar.  Located in Bratislava, it was built by private sector companies Messer Tatragas and Slovnaft. The State owns and operates a mobile hydrogen filling station with a filling pressure of 350 bar. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, Slovakia will need ten mobile hydrogen filling stations by 2030.

Slovnaft, Slovakia’s monopoly refinery, indicated to media that it would investigate building an intermodular hydrogen filling station by the first half of the year 2023. The refinery already produces hydrogen and wants to launch mass production in the future to refuel hydrogen into ships sailing on the Danube either for propulsion or further transport.

Hydrogen is produced for internal production use by chemical companies Fortischem and Duslo. Near the Duslo plant in Sala plans for a new wind power park with electrolyzer for hydrogen production have been approved to receive EU funding. The Ministry of Economy also plans to produce gray hydrogen from surplus energy produced by Slovak nuclear power plants and to store hydrogen using existing gas infrastructure.

Resources

Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic

Internet Portal for Slovak Automotive Suppliers

Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic

Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic

Slovak Trade and Investment Agency

Contact: lucia.maskova@trade.gov