CzechInvest aiming at American automotive giants

Representatives of CzechInvest are travelling to the United States with the objective of further strengthening the Czech Republic’s dominant position in the automotive industry in Central Europe and gaining new investors. Their first stop was the New York International Auto Show, which took place from 25 March to 3 April. The two-week series of meetings with American vehicle manufacturers and parts producers will continue in other states in the American Midwest. In mid-April, CzechInvest will take part in the biggest automotive symposium in North America, the SAE World Congress & Exhibition.

“The Czech Republic is associated with the best automobile brands. In future, we want to strengthen our presence in high-tech sectors such as ecological drive units and intelligent and assistance systems,” says Charles Kucera, CEO CzechInvest, describing the focus of the campaign.

In connection with the automotive campaign in the US, CzechInvest has launched a web portal at www.czechautomotive.org which presents the Czech Republic as an ideal destination for investment projects focused on the automotive industry. The portal provides basic information on the Czech investment and business environment, direct contacts to sector managers and examples of successfully operating factories and technology centres focused on production of vehicles and automotive components and research of technologies that are usable in vehicles.

“Our goal in North America is to raise awareness of the Czech Republic not only as an important and traditional European centre of vehicle and component manufacturing, but also as a suitable location for automotive development and design,” says Richard Schneider, sector manager at CzechInvest.

The automotive industry has a long tradition in the Czech Republic. Accounting for more than 7.5% of the country’s GDP and employing more than 150,000 people in nearly one thousand companies, it is the largest Czech industrial sector.

“The Czech automotive industry is seen as one of the leading markets in Europe and in the world, even from the perspective of investors in the United States. That advantages that the Czech Republic offers have brought a full range of American firms to our market,” adds Jan Chmelik, CzechInvest’s representative in New York.

The best-known automotive companies already operating in the Czech Republic with CzechInvest’s assistance include, for example, Johnson Controls, which is focused on vehicle interiors, Lear Corporation, a manufacturer of seats and electrical components, and Varroc, a developer and manufacturer of headlights. With annual production of 1.3 million vehicles, the Czech Republic is the biggest producer of passenger cars in Central and Eastern Europe.

For more information please contact the CzechInvest Press Centre

Petra Menclová, spokesperson, phone: +420 296 342 430, petra.menclova@czechinvest.org

Jan Chmelik, Director of East Coast Operations, Phone: +1 347 789 0570, e-mail: newyork@czechinvest.org, www.czechinvest.org/en

Richard Schneider, Sector Manager for Automotive, Phone: +420 606 022 538, e-mail: automotive@czechinvest.org, www.czechautomotive.org