Automotive manufacturing and R&D sector in Croatia and Serbia

Our previous issue included an overview of the automotive industry in the South Eastern European countries Slovenia in Romania. In the current issue, we will continue the topic with the automotive manufacturing and R&D sector in Croatia and Serbia.

The southeastern European automotive industry is represented by two subsectors - motor vehicle manufacture and automotive components manufacture. The first subsector encompasses the production of passenger cars, buses and trucks and is represented in Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Bulgaria. Automotive components are manufactured in the above-mentioned countries and in Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Automobile plants usually group a large number of automotive suppliers at the same location or in the vicinity, contributing enormously to the economy of regions and countries. The high potential for import substitution related to the increase in motor vehicles production in southeastern Europe remains one of the main features of the local automotive component market. New players are expected to enter this market following the arrival of new passenger car manufacturers.

Opportunities for the automotive components sector include above all investment in R&D centres, increasing the role of national automotive clusters or possible creation of international and regional clusters. Tucked between western Europe, Russia and the Middle East, the region of southeastern Europe offers automotive manufacturers and suppliers a potential strategic advantage in terms of transportation.

Automotive industry in Croatia

Automotive industry in Serbia