Slovakian car industry results in 2011

Two major global car makers, whose plants are located in Slovakia, announced about successful 2011 for their enterprises. These are the Korean automaker KIA and German VW.

For the KIA plant in Zilina 2011 was a record. The company produced 252,000 vehicles, which is up to 10% more than in 2010. In addition, the company increased production of gasoline and diesel engines, which in 2011 reached 359 000 items.

Korean automaker was able to increase production volumes in 2011 by opening new department, which can produce up to 450,000 engines per year.

Today KIA is one of the largest employers in Slovakia. This company employs 3,900 people. In the near future the Koreans are going to increase production of cars in Slovakia up to 285 000 units. The main target markets will be Russia and the EU.

VW also reported about successful 2011. The company was able to increase the number of employees at its plant in Bratislava by 1500 people and expanded its portfolio of models by launching production of a new sports car.

During the next few years the company intends to reequip the plant in Bratislava and expand its capacity. The German automaker has allocated 1.5 billion Euros for this purpose. In 2012 the company plans to produce 400 000 cars in Slovakia.

At present VW is the largest foreign producer in Slovakia. The company has 3 plants in the country. In addition to the plant in Bratislava, another assembling plant was opened in Martin. In Kosice is also located a special workshop on preparation of cars for export to Russia.