Small Czech town now home to Toyota's largest logistics hub in whole Europe

Japanese automotive firm Toyota has inaugurated a state-of-the-art logistics hub in Kolín, Central Bohemia, which makes it the company's largest of its kind in Europe.

Amid a strain in Czechia’s automotive industry due to external factors, the firm—which already has a substantial presence in the country—says it wants to enhance service quality and shorten vehicle delivery times. The hub, with a capacity of producing or repairing 350,000 cars per year, will serve the entire Central Europe region.

According to Robert Kiml, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic, the plant will also allow Toyota to provide mobile services to its customers. The facility will allow for more pre-sales services and vehicle customization, ultimately improving the overall customer experience.

According to the company, the substantial investment—at EUR 17 million (CZK 431 million)—demonstrates Toyota's “commitment” to doing business in the Czech Republic and reflects its confidence in the region's potential. The hub will also create many jobs in the region. 

Linked by rail to several other European Toyota car factories, the Kolín plant has also strengthened its train connections to hubs. This, according to the company, will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions overall. Toyota also wants to up its rail journeys from Kolín to other hubs.

“At the moment, about 40 percent of our total [logistics transport] is by rail, but we would like to move this to 60 to 70 percent. This depends on the ability of the Czech railway corridor to handle this capacity," Kiml added.

Czechia’s automotive industry is currently going through a turbulent period, in part due to a ripple effect from Germany’s economic woes and the fact that both countries’ auto industries are closely tied. The victory of President-elect Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election this month—and his promise of EU tariffs—will likely increase anxieties. 

The factory produced 192,400 cars in 2023, almost 9,900 fewer than the year-earlier period. The reason for the drop in production was unplanned shutdowns and a lack of car parts worldwide.

Toyota has been present in Czechia since 1993, when its cars began being imported into the Czech Republic. The Kolín factory, opened in the early 2000s, employs around 4,000 people.