PRAGUE -- Output at Hyundai's Czech car plant fell 23 percent to 238,750 vehicles in 2020, hit by shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic, although the factory expects a rebound in 2021.
Hyundai started this year to build the new fourth-generation Tucson SUV alongside i30 models at the Nosovice plant. The company also added output of its new electric Kona crossover.
The factory stood idle for several weeks after the pandemic hit in March and also ran below capacity for some time. However, the introduction of the new models, and modernization at the plant, should help a recovery this year.
"Last year was complicated for all due to the pandemic," said Hyundai's Czech operations chief, Cheolseung Baek.
Baek said that thanks to meeting all challenges, including a model revamp, the company has "great opportunity to overcome the uneasy times and to secure growth again."
Hyundai is one of three car plants in the central European country of 10.7 million people, and the economy is heavily geared to the automotive industry, whose production makes up about a tenth of gross domestic product.
The central bank has forecast that the economy fell over 7 percent in 2020 under the weight of the pandemic and should rebound by 1.7 percent in 2021.
