AUTOMOTIVE STUDY 2025 / Šaroch (ed.) et al.

Table 4.3: Operating profit margins of automotive companies in the assessed countries between 2014 and 2023 Country 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 CZ 4,2% 4,9% 5,0% 5,0% 4,0% 3,8% 2,0% 2,9% 1,9% 3,8% DE 4,5% 2,6% 3,8% 5,5% 4,1% 2,9% 2,4% 6,6% 5,2% 5,9% HU 3,8% 4,0% 3,5% 3,8% 3,2% 1,1% 1,9% 1,9% 2,3% 2,2% PL 4,2% 4,1% 3,7% 3,5% 3,2% 3,2% 2,3% 2,6% 2,7% 2,6% SK 2,3% 2,4% 2,3% 2,4% 2,0% 3,0% 1,5% 1,8% 1,7% 2,1% Source: Own calculations based on Orbis - Bureau van Dijk database Value creation (measured with EVA) in the automotive sector in DE su ers from a low turnover of invested capital. German automotive companies were reporting the highest investment intensity of all the countries studied. At the same time, it can be noted that the investment dynamics are comparable among all the countries in question, as evidenced by the relative stability of the turnover of invested capital of each country over the period under consideration (see Table 4.4). e second lowest levels of turnover of invested capital are found in HU, although even here companies are able to generate roughly twice the level of sales per unit of invested capital as in DE. Table 4.4: Turnover of invested capital of automotive companies in the countries considered between 2014 and 2023 Country 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 CZ 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,4 2,6 2,2 2,7 2,9 2,8 DE 0,8 0,8 0,8 0,7 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,7 0,7 0,7 HU 0,9 1,0 1,0 1,5 1,5 1,5 1,2 1,3 1,6 1,6 PL 2,1 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,3 2,2 1,7 2,1 2,4 2,4 SK 3,8 4,2 4,4 3,7 3,6 3,4 2,9 3,1 3,5 3,5 Source: Own calculations based on Orbis - Bureau van Dijk database Figure 4.3 visually presents the similarities and di erences among the studied countries based on the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of automotive companies. e dendrogram shows that CZ and PL are clustered at the lowest level, indicating a very similar WACC evolution. While WACC levels in CZ are lower than in PL, their development dynamics are nearly identical (a decline until 2021, an increase in 2022, and a slight decrease in 2023). Germany and Slovakia are grouped at a higher level, suggesting some similarities but also clear di erences in economic conditions and risks. ese two countries exhibit the lowest WACC levels among the studied nations, but they also show greater WACC volatility compared to others. Despite this volatility, their prevailing trend mirrors that of CZ and PL (a mostly declining trend until 2021, an increase in 2022, and a slight decrease in 2023). HU is linked to DE and SK at an even higher level in the dendrogram, indicating that its WACC trend diverges even

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