CARS

Czech automobile manufacturers rolled out nearly 850,000 new cars in 2006, setting a new high, Antonín Šípek, director of the Czech Association of Automotive Industries, said Jan 5. The industry was buoyed by a record year for Škoda Auto, which produced a record 550,000 cars last year. The entire Czech auto industry only produced 600,000 cars in 2005.

E-TOLL

Trucking companies paid out nearly 61 million Kč ($2.9 million) in electronic tolls during the e-toll system's first week in operation, said a spokesman for Kapsch, the Austrian firm that designed the system. The e-toll system was launched Jan. 1. The Transportation Ministry estimates some 2.4 billion Kč will be collected this year, but it also predicts the state will not see a profit from the tolls until 2009.

NANOTECH

Ladislav Mareš, owner of nanotechnology firm Elmarco, stepped down as CEO Jan. 1 to devote himself to developing new products from nanofibers, a company spokesman said. Nanofibers currently account for 10 percent of Elmarco's 500 million Kč sales, but they are expected to become a key product for the Liberec-based company. Petr Novotný replaced Mareš as CEO.

GAS

Czech natural gas prices are some of the highest in the European Union and have been rising faster than the EU average, according to Eurostat data released Jan. 8. The Czech Republic ranks sixth among 27 EU nations, with Danish households paying the most.

BUDVAR

U.S. brewing giant Anheuser-Busch announced a deal Jan. 8 to distribute Českýbudějovický Czechvar Premium Lager in the United States in an effort to add more high-end imports to its portfolio. Both companies claim exclusive rights to the Budweiser name and are currently locked in several trademark disputes throughout Europe. The U.S. agreement won't affect those disputes.

AERO

Penta wasted little time making changes at airplane maker Aero Vodochody after the Anti-Monopoly Office allowed it to buy the company Jan. 2. Penta dismissed Aero President Petr Klimeš and the nine-member board Jan. 8. Peter Ondo replaced Klimeš and former Defense Minister Karel Kühnl was named the head of the supervisory board. Penta will pay 2.9 billion Kč for a 100 percent share in the company.

DUTCH

Dutch-based owners control more than 25 percent of the capital of foreign companies operating in the Czech Republic, the Cekia agency said Jan. 8. The Dutch hold 182 billion Kč in capital in Czech companies. Germans and Austrians follow close behind.

JOBS

The Czech unemployment rate rose to 7.7 percent in December, up from 7.3 in November, according to the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry. The figure is still significantly lower than at the end of 2005, when it stood at 8.9 percent. The region with the highest unemployment was Most, north Bohemia, at 19.5 percent. Unemployment was the lowest in Prague, at 2 percent.