Hyundai's European Customers Shun Manual Transmissions

Following a large drop-off of European consumer demand for manual passenger vehicle transmissions, Hyundai’s Czech Republic plant is being converted into a battery production unit.

The Nošovice Hyundai factory near Nižní Lhoty, which recorded 340,000 vehicles produced last year for its highest output since 2017, is selling off its tooling to make room for battery production. In a company statement, the automaker says it is reacting to data showing consumer demand for manual transmissions accounted for just 24% of production in 2023.

It says: “In 2023, we produced a total of 186,500 manual transmissions, of which approximately 120,000 went to the Kia plant in Slovakia and HAOS in Turkey. This was a year-on-year decline of around 15%. We are responding to this long-term and irreversible trend by ending the production of manual transmissions at the Transmission Shop 1 at the end of February 2024 – just as the former Transmission Shop 2 will be converted into a (Hyundai) Mobis facility for the assembly of batteries for electric vehicles. Most employees at the Transmission Shop, across all occupations, will find an alternative position at another HMMC (Hyundai Motor Mfg. Czech) location.”

Hyundai’s flagship Tucson SUV was its best-selling model in Europe last year, accounting for 72% of production. Two of every five models produced were in hybrid or plug-in hybrid variants. The i30 and Kona Electric had identical 13% shares, with the i30 N performance sports car accounting for the remaining 2%.

Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain and Poland are among the biggest buyers of cars from Nošovice, with almost half of last year’s vehicle production sent to these countries.