How Slovakia became the world’s number one carmaker

In a giant factory surrounded by mountains covered in snow, a lift lowers the steel bodies of cars onto the start of an assembly line.

They’ve just been welded together by robots – there are 690 working in this factory.

Next an army of human workers in red trousers and white t-shirts will transform these steel shells into finished cars.

One of these vehicles drives off the end of the assembly line every minute, flashing its headlights.

This is the European factory of Korean car company Kia, just outside the city of Zilina in the north of Slovakia.

It represents, Kia says, an investment of €2.5bn ($2.9bn; £2.2bn).

Volkswagen also produces cars in Slovakia. So does Stellantis (formerly Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat and Chrysler), and Jaguar Land Rover. Volvo is opening an electric car factory here in 2027.

Slovakia, which is home to 5.4 million people, makes almost a million cars a year. This is a small number compared to the world’s largest producers, such as the biggest, China, which manufacturers a whopping 31 million cars per annum.

Yet Slovakia is the number one producer on a per capita basis – relative to the size of its population.